The newest release of the book features top word frequencies for all 66 books of the Bible and also includes a word cloud image of the entire Bible. If you are interested in purchasing the book or posters, you can find them at www.66clouds.com.
Posts Tagged ‘Christianity’
New Sixty-Six Clouds Book
Thursday, March 17th, 2011Song of Songs Poster
Monday, February 14th, 2011He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.
-Song of Songs 2:4
In celebration of Valentine’s Day a limited edition “Pomegranate” colored 11″ x 17″ Song of Songs poster is available at www.66clouds.com. Makes a perfect gift for that special someone.
One Sent
Thursday, February 10th, 2011
I recently put together this graphic to put on T-shirts for our mission team that will be heading to the Valley of San Quintín, Baja California, Mexico on June 11, 2011. The idea behind the design came from our host missionary in Mexico who uses a penny (one cent) as an illustration of a missionary who is also “one sent”. Isaiah 6:8 says “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” I will be traveling with a group of about thirty people this year. It has been a blessing to serve the same church family in Mexico over the years and continue building lasting relationships.
Family Fuel
Thursday, September 16th, 2010
Fuel is a Christian ministry dedicated to “Empowering Families to Live Misssional Lives”. I was asked to create the logo and rather than using a modern gasoline type approach to the concept of fuel, I decided to take the more ancient symbol for fuel (the oil lamp) represented in a modern style. Back in the day, oil lamps were used for both domestic and temple/holy use.
Figuratively, the lamp is symbolic of the Word of God (Ps. 119:105; Prov. 6:23); salvation of God (Gen. 15:17, Isa. 62:1, rendered “torch” in both places); God’s guidance (2 Sam. 22:29; Ps. 18:28); spirit of man (Prov. 20:27); ministers and wise rulers (2 Sam. 21:17; John 5:35). Source: New Ungers Bible Dictionary
Upcoming Sermon Series Graphics
Thursday, 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.
Sixty-Six Clouds Posters Have Arrived
Thursday, 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 visit www.66clouds.com for more information.
Sixty-Six Clouds Website
Monday, July 19th, 2010
Back in April, 2009 I created a collection 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’ve launched www.66clouds.com, which is better organized and more interactive than the previous blog post. A 6″ x 9″, 150 page, perfect bound book containing all sixty-six word clouds is now available as well. 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 if you are interested in purchasing either the book or posters.
LogoLounge: Shapes and Symbols Selection
Friday, 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.
Seeking God – Book Design
Monday, 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.
Church Marketing Directory
Thursday, 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.
The Restoration Road Identity Design
Tuesday, 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.
Setting the Church Free
Tuesday, 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.
Rest for the Weary
Monday, 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.
Light and Movement
Monday, 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.
Worship, Grow, Serve
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
The goal of this identity design was to capture the essence of Spirit of Christ Community Lutheran Church, which is summed up in three simple words: Worship, Grow, Serve. Leadership and unity within the community were strong themes as well. The flame is symbolic of worship and the church being the light of the world as she goes out into the world to serve. The leaf represents both spiritual growth and sensitivity to the environment. The design is versatile, allowing it to be easily reproduced in a variety of print and digital applications. The style is clean and modern. Below are some additional concepts that were explored during the design process.
Design for Y’all
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
I recently re-designed the cover for a book titled Christ In Y’all: Following Jesus into Community by Neil Carter. The main idea behind the book states:
Following Jesus is not a solitary activity. It is meant to be done in a community of believers. When the New Testament declares that “Christ in you” is the “hope of glory,” the Greek word for “you” is plural. So a better translation would be “Christ in Y’all, the hope of glory.” Christ in Y’all explains that the gospel, when fully understood, leads to community. It leads to the intimate fellowship of believers in Christ.
The new cover maintains the same core concept from the old book design, with Jesus at the center of community, but now has a cleaner and more professional style to it. In addition to re-designing the cover, I also created a new header image for the clients’ website and blog. The new vector-based design also translates well into a logo/icon for other print and web applications.
During the design process, I also presented this cover design as an option to the client and was pretty excited about it’s possibilities. However, it was not selected to go any further because while Christ is at the center of the word “Y’all”, He is not literally at the center of a community of people, which is more clearly represented by the final cover design.
The Wild Side of Logo Design
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
I recently put together several design concepts for a friend of mine who is a Family Pastor in Arizona. He wanted me to develop a visual identity for a 5th & 6th grade group at the church called “Wild Side”. Both of the concepts shown above were well received, but “Concept B” was ultimately chosen.
Shed Some Light
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
A friend of mine is part of a house church called The Potter’s Shed. They are planning some outreach events in the community and wanted to have a T-shirt designed that they could wear during those events. Isaiah 64:8 is a fitting passage for their ministry and provided the insight for the design: “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
I started the process by breaking out the old pen & ink set to freehand the lettering. I drew up the shed with some pottery arranged in front of it to help make it into a potter’s shed. After I was finished with the ink drawings, I scanned them into Photoshop, imported them into Illustrator, vectorized the high-resolution images, did some tweaking, and added the colors.
Here’s a color mock up of the final design shown on the back of a mocha colored shirt.
Drought
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
The Word It for June is “Drought“. I know this illustration is pretty bleak, but droughts are bleak. Whether it’s physical, financial, or spiritual, droughts are not much fun. Death may not be the ultimate result of a drought, but it can sure feel like it when you’re going through one. Droughts are stark reminders of our frailty and the dependency we all have on external things to keep us alive. Aseity (self-existence) is an attribute only God Himself possesses and a drought is a powerful reminder of that reality. For in Him we live and move and have our being. -Acts 17:28
Murder By Pride
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
I was recently reminded of an album cover design I put together a while back. A few months ago a friend of mine told me that the Christian rock band Stryper was having an album cover design contest for the release of their new album titled Murder By Pride. I had never designed an album cover before and it sounded fun, so I went ahead and put something together. My design did not win, but it was a fun project to work on. The lion is symbolic of Satan, who according to Scripture “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan’s fall from heaven is attributed to the sin of pride in Isaiah 14:12-20 and Ezekiel 28:11-19.
