March 11th, 2010
The Center for Church Communication (CFCC) has just launched a new resource site called The Church Marketing Directory. According to the CFCC, “The Church Marketing Directory is a lightly-edited list of tools, resources and companies that help the church communicate more clearly.”
The resources are broken down into main categories, making it easier to find what you are looking for. Regarding the types of sites that will be approved for inclusion in the directory, the CFCC says this:
We’re looking for links to any companies, organizations, blogs, tools or other resources that help churches communicate better. These resources need to be focused on church marketing–if a church marketing connection is unclear, the resource will not be approved (e.g., if you submit a designer and their site never mentions working for churches, they’re likely not focused on church marketing and will be rejected). Church marketing means marketing for local congregations, not ministry marketing or Christian business marketing.
All submissions are subject to approval and editing. Inclusion in the Directory does not imply endorsement.
Tags: Christianity, marketing, resources
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March 3rd, 2010
Last night I watched a gripping documentary from Independent Lens called THE EYES OF ME. The film “follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted.”
There are some wonderful vector-style animations peppered throughout the film that I thought really added to the overall quality and feel of the piece. Here is what producer/director/editor, Keith Maitland had to say about it:
People are always curious about the animation in THE EYES OF ME. It’s one of the most exciting elements of the film. I knew that rotoscopic animation would allow me to connect with a dreamlike state that many of the subjects described while differentiating those ideas from the vérité footage and interview segments that we were shooting. Because all four subjects had sight and then lost it, they were very adept at describing, in visual terms, the changes in their perception. The ideas for the animations were born out of organic conversations with the subjects over time. Through these talks, the four kids got to serve as consultants to the animation process. I think they really accomplish the goal of showing these teenagers’ inner visions of the outer world.
Definitely a great film on multiple levels. Check your local listings.
Tags: Independent Lens, vector art
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March 2nd, 2010
The Restoration Road is the title of a new book by author Mitch Kruse. Below are some early (and very rough) concepts I threw down as I was brainstorming ideas for developing the identity design that would be used to promote his new book and website. The client was looking for a “rich, elegant, and art deco style” design.
The wheel of a 1930 Duesenberg Torpedo Roadster was used as the primary shape. The hub of the wheel became a tunnel through which the road symbolically leads to spiritual restoration.
A brushed silver surface was added, along with a leather textured background.
A style guide was also created for the identity.
The homepage and one of the inside page layouts are shown here. Eric Hall of EH Design built the website.
Tags: Christianity, graphic design, icon, logo, web design
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February 22nd, 2010
I recently designed a logo and T-shirt for a 5k Charity Run/Walk called Race 2 Grace. All proceeds from the event will benefit Forgotten Children International. When I start a project, I begin with rough brainstorming sketches (seen below). The goal is not to make pretty sketches, but to conceptualize as many ideas as I can. I typically fill up several pages in my 11″ x 14″ sketch pad before I transition to the computer to develop what I consider to be the strongest concept(s).
Once I’ve developed the strongest idea, I always finalize it in Black and White first. I don’t begin thinking about color until the logo is able to stand alone in Black and White.
For color, I chose yellow because it helped define the roads in the design. The blue complimented the yellow and also provided enough contrast for the black text to pop off of it. 
Finally, for every design that I create, I also put together a Style Guide indicating color specifications for print and web. I include PANTONE color specifications for Coated Process, Coated Solid, Uncoated Process, and Uncoated Solid. I also include RGB and Hexadecimal colors for web.
Tags: freelance, graphic design, logo, t-shirt
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February 2nd, 2010
I recently finished an identity design project for a church stewardship campaign called Release: Setting the Church Free. The image above shows a few of the logo revisions that occurred along the way. The final logo is on the bottom, right. The dove is symbolic of the Holy Spirit/Church being “released” into the nations.
The Letterhead and envelopes were printed first. The abstract watercolor background behind the logo is symbolic of the earth’s geography, but not intended to be exact. The idea was to present a global, rather than local release of the church. The sheet was flooded with ink, leaving only white paper for the dove showing through, which created a nice effect. They were printed 4 Color Process on 80 lb. Finch Fine Text, Bright White.
A 17 1/4″ wide x 22 1/2″ tall (unfolded) Brochure/Poster was also created for the campaign. It was folded like a newspaper page and placed in 9″ wide x 12″ tall, 6 mil plastic recloseable bags. This solution not only looked good, allowing the photos to be seen through the bag, but also fit well with the Release theme and saved quite a bit of money by not printing a traditional pocket folder to hold all of the additional campaign literature, DVD, etc…
Here’s the unfolded outside/poster.
And the unfolded inside/brochure.
Tags: brochure, Christianity, freelance, graphic design, logo, poster, sermon series graphics, stationery suite
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January 12th, 2010
Just got the newly released LogoLounge Master Library, Volume 1: 3,000 Initials & Crest Logos. I was looking forward to this new edition coming out because it contains the Maranatha Brand logo I designed awhile back. I find the LogoLounge books to be a valuable source of inspiration. You might enjoy checking one out sometime if you don’t already own a copy.
Tags: graphic design, logo, logo lounge
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January 11th, 2010
I recently put together this identity for an upcoming teaching series at Grace Gathering. I experimented with a couple of different ideas and ultimately decided to focus on the solution, which is rest, instead of the problem, which is being weary. The series is about gaining refreshment and perspective by applying biblical truth to one’s life.
The final logo was used in Black and White. Here’s how it looks with some color applied to it.
Tags: Christianity, graphic design, logo, sermon series graphics
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December 24th, 2009
Above are some of my original brainstorming sketches for a group of eye care professionals needing a new logo. The client wanted something clean, simple, and professional.
These are four concepts I presented. I was pretty excited about the potential for these designs, but the client thought they were a bit too “artsy”. I could understand where they were coming from with that, so we moved in a more conservative direction.
I ended up using the type treatment from design A and replaced the eyeball icon with the initials of the name of the business. Above is the final logo and color specifications.
Here is the final letterhead design. I learned a while back that whenever you present a letterhead design to a client, you should always put some text on the letterhead. It not only shows the proper margin sizes, but also makes for a much better prestentation.
Tags: freelance, graphic design, letterhead, logo, stationery suite
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December 14th, 2009
I was asked to create an identity/web design for a Leadership Weekend event coming up in January 2010. The theme for the weekend is moving communities toward mission, so I decided to focus on the visual aspects of light and movement to create the design. I contacted a friend of mine who is an amazing photographer and requested a photo that would capture what I was looking for. He supplied the fantastic photo above.
Here is what the photo looked like after a bit of cropping and transforming. The goal was to communicate light and movement in an abstract sort of way.
And this is a screenshot of the final homepage from leadershipweekend.org. I provided the final design elements to the church that is holding the event and one of their staff members put the actual site together.
Tags: branding, Christianity, freelance, graphic design, sermon series graphics, web design
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December 4th, 2009
There are all kinds of illustration styles out there; clean, messy, modern, retro, etc… I’ve been experimenting lately with taking photos of common objects, then hand-inking them in a “messy” sort of style, and then scanning, vectorizing, and coloring them. Above is the original picture of an old 3-IN-ONE can, followed by the the hand-inked version, and finally the vectorized/colored version.
Here are a few more random items I experimented with using the “messy style”.
Tags: drawing, graphic design, illustration, pen and ink, vector art
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November 30th, 2009
If you didn’t catch the Independent Lens premier of Objectified last Tuesday, you can check your local listings to see if it will be available again. The program offered some great food for thought regarding the design of objects we interact with on a daily basis. One of the central issues revolved around whether or not objects should be built to last and “wear in” as opposed to “wear out”. You can also take the quiz to find out which object best captures your personality. I took the quiz and it said I’m a “Coca-Cola Bottle”. Funny, I don’t even like Coke. I wonder what that means?
Tags: graphic design, Independent Lens, PBS
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October 24th, 2009
The design criteria behind this project was medical, clean, streamlined, and incorporating the idea of “Medical Synthesis” in regards to medical device design and development services. MediSynthe offers complete product development – design, testing, and regulatory services. The idea behind the name is that they are developing “medical” device concepts and offering a streamlined product development service where all the parties are in one place and work together as an effective, efficient team, or “synthesis”. The “M” icon alludes to bone joints working together in harmony. Orhopaedic device development is a major area of focus for the company.
Tags: business card, envelope, graphic design, logo, stationery suite
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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.