Graphic Design Tips for Church

Anybody out there?

2011-09-09T18:03:00.001+10:00

Sorry there's been so little action on design4church. With the release of google's new iPhone blogger app, I may start posting again. Here's a quickie. The new Letter M Press app for iPad simulates a wood type press. Screen grabs make nice title-art on their own...

Try a new view!

2011-06-17T13:28:00.000+10:00

Blogger has just enabled a bunch of new views. Try clicking http://design4church.blogspot.com/view/mosaic for a fresh appreciation of the design4church archives. Other views are available from a drop down list.

The Word is worth a thousand pictures...

2009-12-04T15:20:00.004+10:00

Andrew Clarke from St David's Presbyterian Church Toowoomba has been quietly pumping out some top quality pre-sermon advertising images. They're all good, and well designed for a more traditional style church. Here's one of my faves...

Promoting Jesus

2009-12-01T08:44:00.003+10:00

Here at MPC we're working on a campaign for 2010 called "Promoting Jesus." We've been looking for a simple and engaging logo, and with Matt Allan's help, we think we've found it. Thanks Matt!

Design Showcase

2009-12-01T08:41:00.004+10:00

More great work from Queensland, this time from Mike O'Connor in Rockhampton, who is trying to decide between two potential designs for the upcoming Central Queensland Christian Convention. Feel free to express your preference in the comments...

Design Showcase

2009-12-01T08:38:00.003+10:00

Some nice design examples are finding their way to my inbox. This one from Matt Allan at Freshchurch, Queensland, advertises Garnet Swann's cheeky sermon series "Why I am NOT a Christian."

Christmas Already?

2009-11-13T11:39:00.003+10:00

"I was quite pleased with this little flyer to promote our family service," says Stuart Atkinson from Brisbane's Wilston Presbyterian Church. "I initually thought - Christmas - that means lots of colour doesn't it? And although we could probably add some colour here, the little bits of reddy/pink actually stand out more when you're not overloaded. I was most pleased with the amount of depth I could get by resizing the star and using shadows. Interested in comments - I think I've probably broken every layout rule here, as basically nothing lines up, and the kiddy photo probably could have used some treatment. I just wanted to let people know as well about the rihac conitnuous ink supply system which I've been testing. It's basically a system that connects reservoir bottles to your inkjet printer, which massively reduces your costs. It's particularly useful with flyers like this. These days the inkets do a particularly good quality prints, especially on glossy paper, and If you just want to do a small run (a hundred or so) flyers for distribution within church, it's handy, as commercial printer companies don't really cater for this. Here's the site http://www.rihac.com.au/"

Stu also wonders where you can get a good range of papers for this kind of printing? He says it seems easy to get the very heavy 230gsm glossy photo paper, but it's harder to get the 130-170gsm stuff which seems to work better for flyers - particularly double sided gloss/semi gloss paper. Any tips?

More fonts for free...

2009-11-04T16:48:00.003+10:00

Titillium is a clean looking, free font family with a useful range of weights. Download the family here or drop by the Campivisivi website for a closer look. Maybe useful for a full corporate makeover. It looks much more promising here than in my previous post (below.)

The value of Aesthetics

2009-06-26T22:01:00.003+10:00

Thanks to Wayne Connor and Bryson Smith for this insightful article on why aesthetics matter...
"We’ve all seen arguments in the design community that dismiss the role of beauty in visual interfaces, insisting that good designers base their choices strictly on matters of branding or basic design principles. Lost in these discussions is an understanding of the powerful role aesthetics play in shaping how we come to know, feel, and respond..." Read more at http://www.alistapart.com/articles/indefenseofeyecandy/

Some great new free fonts...

2009-06-10T16:17:00.003+10:00

Smashing Magazine has again featured a bunch of fresh free fonts. Titillium is my fave so far... multiple weights, and oh-so 2009ish.

The Village Church

2009-05-30T21:50:00.005+10:00

MPC is launching a new church plant on the edge of Kelvin Grove Urban Village. We're calling it "The Village Church" and aiming for students and young urban professionals. We threw around a few ideas for logos, and settled on the second, grungy version. I still kinda like option 1 though...

MPC Style Guide

2009-05-07T10:15:00.005+10:00

Steve Cree from Southern Cross Presbyterian suggested that we post the MPC Corporate Style Guide here on design4church. While there's maybe a bit of 'yuk factor' in juxtaposing the words "church" and "style", the guide is simply an attempt to standardise the use of fonts and logos across our church organisation. Otherwise, left unbridled, everyone will have a 'word from the Lord', and they'll all be in the most ostentatious fonts they can find. Now we've got a style guide, the challenge will be to get people to stick to it!

Click here to download the pdf.

Font makeover

2009-05-06T12:09:00.009+10:00

Here at design4church we're often pushing the importance of font consistency in your church publications. Finding a consistent and coherent set of fonts with nicely contrasting weights and sticking with them relentlessly is the challenge. Every few years, though, it's time for a total refresh. At mpc, we've moved from the Eras font family (with lots of useful weights from ultra light to ultra black) to a slimmer Bell Gothic phase, which we're now - after about 5 years - retiring in favour of a new font family based on Bitstream's Humanist 777 Condensed. I was looking for something slim, sans-serif, modern and clean. Apart from the unlikely name, the only problem with the Humanist777 family was that it looked a bit 'sterile' on the page. Clean, but too clinical. So with the help of the excellent Type2.2 font editor (and its freeware partner TypeLight), I set about making some mods. Putting it simply, I slightly bent the stems on abdgmnpqr and u. The results? A little bit of swing, and a subtle warmth on the page. Here's a sample...

After working the same minor surgery on the light and extrablack fonts and renaming them to a more corporate-friendly MPC Black and MPC Light, it was time to start work on a matching serif font. Painstaking - but no worse than knitting. All my TV watching time in the past week or two has been spent adding carefully styled serifs, and the result is a very tidy body text that fits perfectly with the sans serif fonts... MPC Serif.

Finally, our favourite handscript face - Desert Dog - got a makeover to raise the x-height to match the rest of the MPC font family as MPC Hand. Here's the final result...

Pantone Colour of the Year - Mimosa

2009-04-03T19:35:00.002+10:00

Actually, white's not so 'in' after all. In fact, Pantone recently announced that wattle-yellow 'Mimosa' is their colour of the year for 2009. Look around and you'll see it in all the style-leading places... the Rove Live credits on Australia's Network 10, Brisbane's La Boite Theatre, and many more. It's officially PANTONE® 14-0848 Mimosa, which according to the press releases is "a warm, engaging yellow." Need more persuasion? "In a time of economic uncertainty and political change, optimism is paramount and no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow." Or so they say.

Rechurch09 Video Promo

2009-04-03T19:26:00.004+10:00

Our second promo video comes from Mitchelton Presbyterian Church, from the launch of their rechurch09 theme earlier this year. White is so 'in'.

Design4church goes video...

2009-04-03T19:22:00.002+10:00

About time too, I hear you say. The whole world has gone video-crazy, so it's time D4C jumped on the me-too bandwagon with links to your best church-promo vids. We'll start the ball rolling with this nice "Got Questions" advert from Southern Cross Presbyterian.

More Black than Black

2009-04-02T11:43:00.002+10:00

Just learned something I never knew over at fuelyourcreativity.com. Check out their 3 Deadly Sins of Print design to find out how to make your blacks print really black. Simple really - just add a dash of the other CMYK colours to punch your blacks right out of the page. Simply specifying K100 (100 percent black) gives a slightly grey look when the ink runs thin on the paper. That gets my tip of the month award!

Font resources

2009-04-02T11:30:00.003+10:00

On a roll here - ready to share some more good font resources. This list points to a load of free font websites. One it doesn't mention though is the excellent Font Squirrel site, which seems way more selective than most. They're all good... though none better than Vegur from DotColon.net.

Free Stuff at ThinkDesign

2009-04-02T11:17:00.003+10:00

Get free fonts, vectors, textures, tutorials, and loads of inspiration at thinkdesign. Another design blog worth a link. Best feature? A great list of 20 free pro-quality serif fonts if you want to stand out from the pack. In a subtle way.

Thinking about Logo Design

2009-04-02T11:11:00.004+10:00

PositiveSpaceBlog runs this useful primer for thinking through Logo Design. Wordmarks, letterform marks, pictorial marks, abstract marks and emblems are all explained and exampled. Seems Positive Space may well be worth some positive space in your favourites, or your feedreader.

Wonderful script logos...

2009-03-12T11:34:00.002+10:00

Some wonderful logo designs specialising in script styles is featured here http://www.lettercult.com/logos - worth a click!

Minimalist Communication

2009-03-12T09:27:00.002+10:00

Check out the guided tour of the new ipod shuffle at http://www.apple.com/au/ipodshuffle/

"I reckon its (yet again from apple) a beautiful example of clear minimalist communication," says Bryson Smith. EVERYTHING has been thought about: the colour scheme and style of what the girl is wearing, the choice of music you hear, the absence of any backdrop, the way the girl introduces herself and then uses really plan speech... the whole thing says "relaxed, friendly, cool style." Simply beautiful communication.

Uncle Sam Needs You

2009-02-12T18:35:00.002+10:00

"Here's a 'propaganda flyer' that'll be handed around my church to recruit people to evangelise on university campus," says Tommy Wong. It's an oldie but a goodie, Tommy - and perfectly executed. Thanks for sending.

Ephesians Makeover

2009-02-12T18:29:00.005+10:00

"Any quick thoughts on improving this," asks Alan Radloff?

It's a nice idea, and looks pretty good. But my first suggestion was to move the globe to the right, eliminating the untidy black area of 'trapped space' between the right edge of the text and the edge of the planet. There's one less alignment too - all the text follows straight down the left edge. That helped. Now what about making the planet REALLY big by blowing it off the page?

Praying for the Australian Bush Fire Crisis

2009-02-12T18:27:00.002+10:00

Jens Norved says, "At our church we are doing prayers for the Victorian bushfires and also gathering donations. We will be using the following slide when praying about the situation." Thanks Jens.

Christmas Art

2008-12-09T08:05:00.004+10:00

"Thought I'd share my design for the upcoming Indonesian Presbyterian Church Xmas Service," says Tommy Wong. Thanks Tommy - nice job.

When Rebranding is only Skin Deep

2008-11-14T17:41:00.004+10:00

Mike O'Connor pointed me to the excellent new Beyond Relevance blog, which is well worth a look. Here's a snatch from a recent article:

re-Branding on Momentum

It seems like churches these days have seen the power of marketing and branding just enough to jump onto the band wagon. Churches everywhere are sliding onto the re-branding table and looking for a quick-fix for their "growing" concerns. A few recent conversations have illustrated the often missing link in a church's preparedness to go under the knife for a branding make-over.

Now, before I get into this, please note that true "branding" goes much deeper than skin deep. True branding is a plum-line from the core of who you are to the people God has called you to reach. It is a promise you deliver on in all that you do and is seen on the surface as your communication, design, image or brand. With that said...

I was teaching a session on branding last week at the National Youth Workers Convention. I normally speak to senior pastors, so I jumped at the chance to hang out with youth leaders for a few days. It was a blast. I was challenging on the need for churches to become successful without a branding effort and that the best brands are those that learn how to connect to people and grow organically first—and then build their brand around that. A youth leader visited me afterwards almost in tears. He had recently taken a position at a new church and, as what he (and much of the church world) thought was norm, decided to launch a new youth group brand. He built that brand around a new look, new logo, new name, new everything. He developed the image of this great brand before he had built trust in his youth and momentum through his ability to connect with them and see growth. He then attempted to launch the brand with a huge event and watched it all to fall flat. The results were a disappointment for him and now his youth group is struggling and shell-shocked. He was heartbroken.

What this represents is surface re-branding. It is an epidemic. It is the concept that if we are not attracting people, it is because we do not have the right name or image, and therefore, we need to change it and re-design our look. With all the love I can muster, if you are not growing what you have, it is not because of your logo. If you are not connecting with people that come through your doors in a way that causes them to come back and bring others, no amount of design can create a long term fix. If you do have momentum however, the right brand can be a catalyst to new levels of growth.

This stuff is not taught in schools. In February, I sat down with a doctoral student at Dallas Theological Seminary who interviewed me regarding his doctoral thesis on church brand development. His brilliantly written thesis had a fatal flaw—it omitted that re-branding should only take place after momentum has been generated. To simply re-brand a church when it has not found its traction is generally just an indication to your community that you’ve tried everything else without success and in your last attempt, you’re changing your style and/or name in order to reinvent yourself. Branding done right is not a "fix". It is a swagger. It is a well-communicated sense of self built on successfully connecting with others.

Here’s the deal: if you aren’t currently connecting with people right where they’re at, no amount of branding/design can solve your problem. Re-branding without momentum is kind of like dressing up for your prom and forgetting to court a date. Think about it.

Design cannot obtain what a disconnected ministry cannot reach.

Published on Friday, November 7, 2008 @ 12:00 AM CST

CREATE Conference Coming Soon

2008-11-06T12:31:00.004+10:00

Our friends at FEVA are running their Create Conference on November 15th. That's soon! Rock on over to their website to register. Group discounts are available.

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall...

2008-11-01T18:09:00.004+10:00

Lifehacker reported recently that free web photo utility MirrorEffect.net offers a cool online tool for creating Mac-like reflections. "Find an image with a clean background, choose where you want the reflection, and tell the app if you want a scaled effect to look like light bending. You can also choose to have the reflection be transparent, but there's no sliding scaler for that effect, unfortunately. Upload the image and you'll get the result decently fast. There's not a lot of options, obviously, but for pulling off that clean, Apple-promo-esque look, it's a helpful tool for those not quite handy with an editor. MirrorEffect.net is free to use, doesn't require a sign-up." I've tried it, and it performs exactly as promised. Shame though that anyone with Powerpoint07 these days can do the same...

Christmas again

2008-10-31T11:55:00.004+10:00

Anyone else got some Christmas designs? It's time to get them to your local printshop! I'll post any ideas you send me.

Selling Forgiveness

2008-09-18T14:13:00.004+10:00

There's been debate among the ministry team at MPC about whether this web-poster is an engaging and attractive way to advertise a teaching weekend on "Forgiveness." It's masculine, it's dark, and it's based on the movie poster from Clint Eastwood's moody movie "Unforgiven." Personally, I figured it had a lot of advantages over a design featuring lots of flowers and girly stuff... but the jury is still out. Comments welcome.

How to make an A5 booklet

2008-09-16T08:36:00.001+10:00

Ever wanted to make an a5 booklet using Open Office? Sure you have. Russell Williams explains how right here. Thanks Russ!

Genuine Imitation

2008-09-13T09:29:00.005+10:00

If you're looking for a free photoshop clone, read the Lifehacker review here. Otherwise, head straight over the the Artweaver site and download a copy right away. According to Lifehacker, "While it isn't a true replacement for Photoshop, Artweaver's feature set is robust; it includes layer management, image cloning, a history function, transparency, pen tablet support, and a host of the common filters in Photoshop."

Design Tips for Text

2008-09-09T09:43:00.002+10:00

Take a look at a series of neat design tips for documents that are made up of large slabs of text here. In summary...

Top 10 tips for getting lively:

1. Make a shape
2. Supersize it
3. Create a time and place
4. Amaze with initials
5. Make your own alphabet
6. Have some pun to make your point
7. Do the unexpected
8. Make white space your friend
9. Use both sets of letters
10. Play with punctuation

Multicolr Search Lab Sorts Flickr Pictures by Colour | Lifehacker Australia

2008-07-11T20:59:00.003+10:00

Lifehacker Australia usefully reports that "Multicolr Search Lab Sorts Flickr Pictures by Colour.
Need an image with dark blue and green undertones for desktop wallpaper or a design project? Multicolr Search Lab, a free search utility, digs through roughly 3 million images in Flickr's 'Interesting' set for photos featuring the colours you select. You can make one colour more prominent by selecting it multiple times, and the results seem pretty genuine—though you have to find the colours with your eyes, and can't put in hexadecimal or RGB values grabbed from graphics programs. The colour search engine also has a front end for Alamy Stock Photography for those in need of definite royalty-free images."

I Am Red, Hear Me Roar - Chris Dickman

2008-06-24T08:42:00.001+10:00

Ever wondered how you'd add new zing to the age-old Coca Cola branding? Take a look at I Am Red, Hear Me Roar - Chris Dickman for some inspiration!

Presentation Masterclass

2008-06-21T22:50:00.002+10:00

Apple's Steve Jobs is the acknowledged master of dynamic presentations. Read how he does it here. Likewise, the designer of Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" presentation - the basis of his world-challenging movie - shares tips and techniques here. Thanks to Lifehacker.com for the links. Finally, Slideshare.net is a new site that's 'like youtube for presentations.' It's a great way to share your presentations with a remote audience, or to learn from popular examples.

Annual Australasian Christian Conference

2008-06-20T14:51:00.003+10:00

The AACC is a brand new academic conference for 'the academy and the church.' Time for a look at some first attempts at designing a suitable logo and brand identity. The conference organisers called for a Corinthian column and a cross to be integrated in the design, which should also feature the conference initials. Anyone else think upper-case "A" is hard to work with?

Cambridge University Style Guide

2008-06-20T14:48:00.003+10:00

Cambridge University has their corporate design style guide online here. It's a wonderful example of how it should be done - typography, colours and other corporate identity markers are set out clearly, with a nice combination of flexibility and rigour. You can do absolutely whatever you like... as long as it's within the guidelines.

Vectors Explained by Mike Pittman

2008-05-21T13:17:00.007+10:00

You don't have to go far on this site to hear about 'vector' graphics - but what are they? Well, 'vector' graphics are made of smooth curves, as opposed to the dots or pixels that make up 'bitmap' graphics. A bitmap image will get chunky or 'pixelated' when you enlarge it, but the curves in a vector image will stay smooth.

A few articles back, Phil talked about making vector images by tracing a bitmap, but you can also get lots of free vector images online. A great source of public domain vector images is Open Clip Art Library, or Clker.com, which hosts many of the Open Clip Art images, but with a friendlier interface. Images on both these sites are are public domain, so there are no copyright hassles and you can do whatever you like with them.

The format they use is called SVG, which stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. SVG files open in Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw or the free Inkscape. They are also quite easy to modify, because the bits kind of float over the top of each other. So, for instance, click on the text on the soft drink bottle, hit delete, and type something different. Click on the lime colour and change it to strawberry red in one more click. It's easy!

To learn more about vector editing, check out some great video tutorials by Heathenx (don't be turned off by the name). The videos on his home page can be large (~40Mb), but thankfully much smaller versions are up on YouTube here. Heathenx's videos are specific to Inkscape, but the principles transfer to any vector package.

So, watch some videos, have a bit of a muck around, and you'll soon get the hang of it. Remember to save your work, and there's always the undo button if you make a mistake. Mike Pittman, Tuggeranong Presbyterian Church

The Challenge of Atheism

2008-04-17T11:25:00.003+10:00

Our annual Food For Thought Dinner is taking up the Dawkins challenge - but capturing the concept of atheism in a design is more challenging...

A Neat technique

2008-04-17T10:24:00.012+10:00

"I noticed this on the Anglican website advertising connect 09," says Stuart Atkinson. "I don’t really know how it’s done but I really like the effect."

Agreed. Well done to Anglican Media's design department. (Sarah, is that you?) Clearly, it's a combination of vector and bitmap artwork, and there's an easy way to get something of the same effect... though not with the neat graduated colours that add depth to the CONNECT 09 piece.

If you want to try an easy simulation though, you can use Corel Draw's image cutout and autotrace functions.

I'm using Corel 14, which although s-l-o-w compared with version 12, offers greatly improved trace features.

Step 1 - Import a photo. The selection of your original photo image will determine the quality of the outcome. The simplicity and colour range of your background will be especially important. This one is a little too complex... but let's run with it.

Step 2 - Choose 'Edit Bitmap' to export the image to Corel Photo Paint. Use the ImageCutout Lab feature to trace around the girl in the foreground. Meanwhile, in Corel Draw, autotrace the original image with settings for low resolution Line Art. You want the resulting image to be as simple as possible.

Step 3 - Assemble

Paste the cutout image of the girl exactly on top of her vectorised representation. You've now got a bitmap foreground overlaid on a simple vectorised background.

Step 4. Here's the result. I simplified the vector background a little by taking out the background people and extending the areas of green.

Step 5. Finishing Touches - Add some text and compare it with the original image at the top of this post. It's a similar effect, but was completed in minutes...

A Beautiful Powerpoint

2008-02-02T22:31:00.001+10:00

Garnet Swann from Eatons Hill's Freshchurch is celebrating the first birthday of the church with a powerpoint presentation on why they want to "grow committed, connected, clear-thinking and compassionate followers of Jesus." It's not only a great framework for a church - it's one of the cleanest, most beautifully designed powerpoints I've seen for a while. Here are some pointers:

* Lots of clean white space

* crisp cut-out images on the white background look fresh, and integrate the design

* orange and grey make a great colour combination, and work well with the crisp black and white of the rest of the design

* the grey 08 background is another simple and clean design element. It's a simple, constant reminder that they're launching a new year, and adds a nice dynamic touch with the slight tilt, and the edge cropping.

* overall, it's simple, clean, and not too fussy.

Top marks!

Absolutely Magic Vectorising...

2007-11-02T20:48:00.000+10:00

If you're looking for a way to convert dodgy bitmaps into smooth, smooth vector images - and who isn't? - go to http://vectormagic.stanford.edu/. In a word, it's fantastic. If you're familiar with tools like CorelTrace, you'll be astounded by the superior results. And it's free. Upload your bitmap, wait a few moments, and the SVG or EPS version of your image is ready to save back to your PC. Cool, cool, cool.

Truly... this is astonishingly cool.

Mark Bookmark

2007-07-23T19:04:00.000+10:00

Andrew Richardson has just produced a promotional bookmark for the Mark's gospel series he's running alongside the upcoming Church4kids program. "I'm quite pleased with the graphic and the colours," says Andrew - I agree. nice job.

No ordinary flyer...

2007-07-20T15:19:00.001+10:00

Bryson Smith has been working on the design for a flyer promoting the Western Plains Christian Convention, which is running under the title "The Life Less Ordinary." He's come up with a beautiful design, though he says he couldn't find exactly the stock image he was looking for..."The grain works because of the region," says Bryson from the heart of rural Australia... "but the flower is still less blokey than I'd like. I'd love a crowd scene in which everyone is frowning and one person is smiling or something like it." Even so, it's a great job, and one that we hope draws a crowd...

Two New Books from Amazon

2007-06-22T13:16:00.000+10:00

I've just received my copies of two nice design books - ordered from Amazon.com to take advantage of the current great exchange rate. The first is 'Before & After Page Design' by John McWade - the same guy who does the B&A website and the magazine. Loads of inspiration and step by step tutorials. The second is 'Robin Williams Design Workshop - 2nd Edition.' Robin is the lady behind the 'Non-Designers Guide' which started me on the road to better design. This is a far bigger book, with far more examples - but maybe lacking the distilled clarity of the original. Even so, I've already pickup up some practical design ideas from each book.

Church4Kids

2007-06-22T13:11:00.002+10:00

Back blogging after a long break - sorry about that. Here's the draft of a flyer I've been working on, which will be re-used around a number of churches in Brisbane in the next few months. The toughest challenge was finding the right kid-shot to liven it up. Ultimately, dreamstime.com came to the rescue once again... though they've recently both increased the cost of download credits, AND increased the number of credits per image. These kids cost 2 credits, or around $US4. Hope they do the job!

MPC Website now LIVE!

2007-05-24T10:45:00.001+10:00

Thanks to those who commented on the new-look MPC website. We are now live with a slight redesign at www.mpc.org.au - please drop by and check it out. Sorry Martin - the greyscale photos stay! They're a 'design feature...'

Sneak Peak at New MPC Website

2007-05-12T22:51:00.000+10:00

After almost 8 years without a makeover, the Mitchelton Presbyterian Church website was looking dated and tired. Time for a nip and tuck - with Dr Derek Hanna to the rescue. Weilding only a scalpel and a set of handy WordPress tools, Derek has sliced and diced to the point where the old site is barely recognisable. There's news, there are pics, and there are clear links (we hope) to our popular archive of talks and studies. We're still very much in beta, and still adding content and populating pages... but thought you might like to take a look and give your comments while there's still time to change things. Please take a look at http://www.mpc.org.au/new and tell us what you think.

Searching for Free Stock Images

2007-04-26T12:17:00.001+10:00

Keen poster Mike Pittman from Tuggeranong has submitted the following handy information.

Easy Searching for Free "Stock Images":
In an earlier post I mentioned YotoPhoto and Stock Exchange, which both provide free, high resolution "Stock Images". But how would you like to search straight from your browser? Both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 have a search box in the top right corner, and now you can easily add stock image search plugins to that box.

The following links will add search plugins to either IE7+ or Firefox 2+

To add YotoPhoto - click on this link and then click on "I" to install the YotoPhoto search plugin.

To add Stock Exchange - click this link and then click on "I" to install the Stock Exchange search plugin.

Now to search for Photos, you can just click on the arrow on the search bar, select the search plugin you wish to use, type in your search phrase and hit enter. Beautiful, isn't it?

Image Licensing:
A word about image licensing. Many images in these particular stock photo sites have no usage restrictions, but some do. Some images require permission (usually by email), some require attribution (a small note next to each image), and a few are more restricted.

I have set the two search plugins above to search for images that are in most cases 100% no strings attached. To do that, I have configured the YotoPhoto plugin not to find "Creative Commons" licensed images, because even though they're free they always require attribution, which I don't want on my publications. I have also configured the Stock Exchange plugin to use only "Unrestricted" images, which in many cases just means you need permission by email, but I don't want that hassle. If you want to search for all images, including some with slight restrictions, use this link for unrestricted YotoPhoto, or this link for unrestricted Stock.xchng. If you want to know more about licensing, you can find details on either website.

Powerpoint Tips

2007-04-24T17:55:00.001+10:00

Thanks to Mike Pittman for emailing this useful powerpoint info.

Really Bad Powerpoint:

Recent Aussie research says Powerpoint often overloads audiences with information and destroys communication. But the experts say don't ditch Powerpoint - just stop being so complex - something Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO) both need to learn.

If you've been following Bill's lead, help is at hand. Seth Godin has written a very helpful article about curing "Really Bad Powerpoint". You can also read about good Powerpoint design on the Presentation Zen site, or Guy Kawasaki's "10/20/30 rule" on his blog.

The low-down is to keep it minimal - hardly any bullets, fewer slides, big images, big text (and not much of it), plus blank screens to refocus attention on your message. Because if it's all on the screen, you'll lose everyone, so why not save time and frustration and email the notes?

Styles To Imitate:

If you've got your L-plates on, why not try imitating some of the masters? Check out the visual simplicity of Steve Jobs, see his November 2006 keynote speech, or learn why Jobs is so persuasive. Another master presenter is Lawrence Lessig - his free culture presentation is 8.4Mb, but well worth a look. Others to imitate include prolific presenter Seth Godin or the absolute minimalist Takahashi method.

Look and Learn:

Once you've seen some of the masters, it's also worth taking a look at some good one-offs, like Meet Henry, Drive, Incredible India, 3 Types Of Teachers, or Flickr

More Free New Fonts

2007-04-14T19:05:00.000+10:00

The creator of Fontin, previously mentioned in Design4church, has been busy creating a bunch of professional quality free fonts. Visit Jos Buivenga and take a look around. Fontin Sans is terrific... but the full "Delicious" family is delicious too.

Stock Photos - Great links

2007-04-05T14:10:00.000+10:00

Mike Pittman offers the following handy links for stock photos:

http://www.yotophoto.com
This is a search engine for images that taps into several other free image banks. All are high resolution. All are free to use, although some require permission and/or attribution (licensing information is available for each photo).
I've got a plugin for my Firefox browser that allows me to search this site without opening the page first (http://yotophoto.com/plugin). There is quite possibly one available for internet explorer, but I haven't got the motivation to look for it
Something else impressive that Yotophoto does is search by colour - see http://yotophoto.com/search-by-color

http://www.pixelperfectdigital.com/
Many of these are taken on white backgrounds, meaning it is dead simple to remove the background.

Some other resources that may be useful;
http://www.picnik.com/
http://www.freewebpageheaders.com/
http://www.designpacks.com/ - by Darren Hester - pixelperfect, designsbydarren etc.

"Clarity" Conference in Canberra - Get the Notes!

2007-04-02T19:50:00.000+10:00

Last Friday I presented a graphic design seminar titled "Clarity" at the REQUIP conference in Canberra. Download the comprehensive course notes and ppt file by clicking on the link below. (Please note, some of the material is drawn from previous posts on this blog, supplemented by other material and examples. It's a great way to catch up with previous design4church tutorials in an integrated package.)

More on Design Software...

2007-03-15T10:55:00.000+10:00

Following up from his previous question on design software, Stuart Atkinson asks, "Do churches/ministers qualify for the academic/not for profit organisation version of Corel Draw($175- against about $800)?"

A few years ago, Corel was certainly offering the educational discount to churches; our church purchased through a company in Melbourne that specialised in academic retailing. I'll try to dig out the details.

Meanwhile, Rob Lamont's Ministry Blue site has links to a number of special offers, including the full Adobe Creative Suite for $580. It's certainly worth a look:
Discounted Software for Australian Based charities, not for profits , missions, ministry, church or youth organisations

Today's Churches Too Old Fashioned for 21st Century Audience, says Author

2007-03-15T08:53:00.000+10:00

Here's a provocative extract from an article in Christianity Today:
"“Our audience are used to 21st century advertising - slick, professional, competent. They will hardly even glance at much of what we are offering. We need to chuck out the day-glo posters, meaningless jargon, hand-drawn lettering and naff jokes, and bring in professionally produced posters and witty lines.

“With churches facing declining attendance and struggling to make their message heard in an increasingly noisy world, it beggars belief that so many have a mend and make-do attitude to publicity,” says Creighton. “We have a life-changing message on offer, but we want to wrap it up in crass slogans.”

Creighton gives ‘cheesy’ examples of church slogans such as ‘Carpenter from Nazareth seeks joiners’, ‘Come-in for a faith lift’, ‘Seven days without prayer make one week’, and ‘Free Trip to Heaven. Details Inside!’."

Read the full article here: Christian Today – Christian News > Today's Churches Too Old Fashioned for 21st Century Audience, says Author

Which Software for Church Design?

2007-03-12T16:22:00.000+10:00

Stuart Atkinson is looking for software recommendations. "I am currently using Microsoft Paint, Publisher 2003 and Photostudio 5.5(a free photo editing program which came with my Canon printer) to do any layouts for church activities(bulletins, brochures, powerpoint slides etc)," says Stuart. "I find that I end up sometimes using all three, because no one program seems to be able to do everything I need. ie Publisher lets you move stuff around to your heart’s content, but you can’t rub bits out or be very creative. I played around with a trial Coreldraw program, but it seemed too technical. Can anyone suggest something that is more of a one stop shop, but doesn’t cost three hundred dollars?"

It would be great to hear from regular blog-readers on this. I'll start. First up, if you've got a tertiary student in the house, did you know that Office Ultimate (with Publisher 2007) is available for download for just $75? More details at www.itsnotcheating.com.au However, as Stu points out, Publisher is a layout program, not a bitmap editor. You really do need both. Stu, take a look through the blog and find the link for Photofiltre, a free bitmap editor that's much better than Microsoft Paint! And for my money, Corel Draw is certainly worth the learning curve. It's almost essential if you want semi-professional results.

Kuler Colours!

2007-03-02T10:55:00.000+10:00

Stuck for a creative (and tasteful) colour combo? Kuler can help! WIth active colour discussion forums and an ever growing range of colour schemes, it's a great place for a dash of inspiration.

Easter Ideas

2007-03-02T10:52:00.000+10:00

Luke Tattersall at Parramatta City Presbyterian Church is running with the Easter theme "Jesus - Fact or Fiction?" Free copies of the DVD of the same title from Life Ministries are being distributed, with invitations to easter services:
Good Friday—9:00am
Jesus: Fact or Fiction?
The Facts Behind the Death of Jesus

Easter Sunday—10:30am
Jesus: Fact or Fiction?
So What if Jesus Rose from the Dead?

Two neat new free fonts

2007-02-27T18:09:00.000+10:00

Free fonts are a dime a dozen - it's only rarely that you'll find a gem that's well enough designed for professional use. Here are two I've unearthed recently at www.dafont.com... they may even work quite well as partners, with Yanone as headline font and Fontin for body text.

Logo in positive - thanks Aaron!

2007-02-15T11:11:00.000+10:00

After the previous post (below) Aaron commented that he thought the simplified logo (in positive rather than reverse) would look better than the original (more complex) version for everyday use on letterheads etc. So I've given it a try...

Simplified QTC Logo for Glass Etching

2007-02-14T10:40:00.000+10:00

Here's an interesting challenge. With the rebranding of Queensland Theological College (formerly the Consortium of Reformed Colleges), we needed a crest design to be applied to the glass doors at the college entrance. There's a great new stick-on product that looks just like old-style glass etching... but the design must be simple enough to cut from the plastic sheeting. As you can see from sample A, there's no way the detailed leaves and flames would be suitable... so the design had to be reduced to simple elements that would maintain identity with the original design. This was far from easy, and took lots of hours. The result is shown in sample B. (The plastic sheeting is translucent, sparkly white - I've shown it in blue for your convenience.) In the end, I'm wondering if it might actually work better on letterheads and for general use than the original design. Any thoughts?

Eatons Hill Up and Away

2007-02-05T19:03:00.000+10:00

After our orange and green Freshchurch advertising blitz, our Eatons Hill Church Plant launched on Sunday. The results were outstanding - the core group of 41 adults was amazed to be joined by another 22 adult visitors who had come along because they'd seen the ad campaign. Orange and green was a definite theme...

MetroWest Mailout

2007-02-05T18:56:00.000+10:00

Here's the front and back of a mailer that Brisbane's MetroWest church is sending out to the Taringa community via Aust. Post. There will be one mailout each month for the rest of the year. Copy by Michael Bennett. Art by Martin Howard.
Michael, the interim pastor is preaching a series on the Sermon on the Mount. This flyer highlights the passage about not worrying.
Tools: InDesign, iMac, cartoon from iStockphoto.com
Fonts, Helvetica (Light and Condensed Black) and Aroma.

Getting warmer...

2007-02-03T16:47:00.000+10:00

Luke Tattersall has locked in the title and poster for his series playing off the "Inconvenient Truths" movie. Here's how it's looking...

Pic 2 Colour

2007-02-02T21:53:00.000+10:00

Here's a handy online utility for automatically generating colour schemes from bitmap images... pic2color. Seems to work just fine...

Fresh New Church at Eatons Hill

2007-01-30T15:42:00.000+10:00

Our church plant launches next Sunday morning - so thanks to Rob Hanson at Photograve Pty Ltd, we're going to have some great new signs and banners. We're hoping they'll catch the eye. The fence banner (above) will be 2 metres long. A series of direction signs will lead to the carpark (below)

Inconvenient Truths - A series

2007-01-30T15:37:00.000+10:00

Luke Tattersall is planning a topical sermon series later in the year, which is going to pick up on Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth. He's planning to call the series one of the following:

* More Inconvenient Truths
* Other Inconvenient Truths
* An Inconvenient God

The series will look at what the Bible says about topics like:
o Heaven & Hell (Judgement)
o At Least you have your Health (The Health myth)
o In the Last Days… (Terrorism and the state of the World)
o Angels & Demons (Satan and the Spiritual Realm)
o The Illusion of Freedom (Sovereignty of God)

Luke was looking for suggestions for titles for two more talks, on Tolerance and Sin. My suggestions are:
o Totalitarian Tolerance (Pluralism)
o I Did it My Way (Sin)

Inspired by Luke's idea, Bryson Smith suggested a series poster based on the movie. It could look something like this...

Marketing Tips

2007-01-30T15:36:00.001+10:00

This is slightly off topic, but thought readers might find these direct marketing tips (which are guaranteed to work, or your money back!) provide some food for thought. They're tried and true marketing secrets, they're free, and they're here in pdf format.

More tips for church websites...

2007-01-25T15:18:00.000+10:00

These church web design tips come from http://ied.gospelcom.net/church-syndicate.php ... with permission. Solid gold!

CHURCH WEBSITE DESIGN TIPS
Your church site will be the first point of contact for many people in your community. First impressions count. It should therefore be at least as professional and attractive as your outside sign-board or newsletter. Extra
Do not place too much information on your homepage. It needs just sufficient graphics and text to explain at a glance who you are and what is available elsewhere on the site. The homepage should be a doorway, not a stopping point. It should not take the form of a welcome letter from the pastor – a website is not the same as a printed brochure.
And all important information should be ‘above the fold’. In other words, almost everything should be visible without needing to scroll. The homepage should not be much more than one screen in height.
Avoid ‘churchy’ graphics – open Bibles, stained glass windows, doves, candles. And appeals for money. These are off-putting to many non-Christians. There are even church sites out there using 1990s animated graphics: revolving golden crosses and doves with flapping wings.
Do not add automatically starting Midi hymn tunes or music files to your site either – these are very irritating. And finance, if it must be mentioned at all, should only be in areas clearly aimed at the members.
Use at least one graphic of a person’s face on the homepage. This tip is so important, it is in here twice! Churches are primarily about people, not buildings. A well-chosen picture can express far more than many words, and illuminate the meaning of your text.
A 3-column layout is often the most suitable for a church site. You can get ready-designed template coding for pages – already set up with headers, columns and footers to use in your own HTML editor. If you use the industry-standard Dreamweaver software for web design (and non-profits can buy this at a quarter of full price), it contains ready-made templates ideal for church sites. Do not skimp on design software, and read reviews before choosing. The alternative is a ready-made site – see #45.
Never use an introductory ‘splash page’. A ‘splash page’ is an introductory page containing nothing but a graphic (or even animated sequence) plus ‘click here to enter’ link. These are intensely irritating to users. Many people will leave the site, rather than clicking through. Splash pages can also reduce your ranking in search engines.
Every page should display the same overall appearance, with the same navigation options in the same place. Pages which lack consistent style will confuse users, who wonder if they have strayed onto a different site. A navigation menu should appear on all pages – don’t force people to go back through the homepage to find another page. Extra
All links, menu options and buttons should be clearly identified as ‘active’ – they should change color when hovered. Links and buttons, which do nothing when hovered, appear dead. People need these visual clues. Also think long and hard before introducing link styles that are not standard. A blue underlined link remains the ‘language’ that most people understand. (Don’t underline any text which is not a link – this is really confusing!)
If you use Javascript – a special hidden code written into a web-page, which can carry out functions within the page after it has downloaded – for any effects, ensure everything on the site still works for those with Javascript disabled. Make sure that words or links which only work with Javascript are actually made invisible (rather than just non-operational) in a Javascript-disabled browser. Provide alternative options enclosed within ‘noscript’ tags if necessary. 5-10% of web users have Javascript disabled. That is a lot of visitors to your website over a year. In fact, many Javascript tricks can be produced by other means, using CSS and PHP.
Don’t use frames – a page design with code which enables one or more blocks of content to be scrolled independently – for site design. Although there are a few specialized situations where frames can be used effectively, a standard church website is not one of them. They have a range of disadvantages, which even expert design cannot overcome.
Learn how to use ‘include’ files – a great time-saver. If you have not yet discovered the time-saving benefits of site-wide ‘include’ files (where a single file generates headers, footers, menus, etc. within a page) now is the time. Do a Google search for ‘server side includes’. Also learn how to use CSS. CSS (Style Sheets) is another essential site-wide method of setting page appearance and structure with a single file – see the ‘Extra’ link. Time spent learning ‘includes’ and CSS will repay a webmaster many times over. Extra
Use colors correctly: understand how to choose a color scheme, how colors relate to each other, and what mood they communicate. Ask a graphic designer for advice. Most of us do not have an eye for color. Clashing or inappropriate colors will negate the message of your site, and drive visitors away. Extra
Don’t use patterned graphic backgrounds behind body text. With very few exceptions, black body text on a white (or near-white) plain background is best.
Consider a ‘liquid’ page design: the content should flow naturally and fit together, at any screen resolution (i.e. size of the monitor screen measured in pixels) or reasonable font resize by a user. This is arguably better than making a fixed-width 800-pixel-wide page design. (A majority of people now use 1024 x 760 anyway.) The Internet Evangelism Day site, for instance, is completely liquid, even down to the old 640 x 480 screen resolution. And don’t put ‘best viewed at resolution’ or ‘best viewed in browser Y’ on your website. This is irritating to people who use a different resolution or browser. It is your job to make their viewing experience a positive one, whatever screen resolution, browser, or operating system they use. Don’t put a visible ‘visitor counter’ on your pages either.
Don’t include ‘mailto’ email addresses in plain coding on the site. They will be ‘harvested’ by spammers. Create a contact form instead. Or at the very least ‘obfuscate’ addresses using coding that hides them, with a heavy-duty Javascript encoding. (You can use multiple contact forms to direct mail to different church departments.)
Your site need not be large or complex. If you do not have the gifts or staff to maintain a large site, it is OK just to have an attractive single page, or a handful of informative pages. A group of churches in a locality could even build a combined co-operative website.
Don’t leave out-of-date content online. Few things rob a site of credibility more than this.
Use several people to proof-read for typos and poor grammar. Mistakes also rob a site of credibility in the eyes of many people. Proof-reading is best done on paper printouts, not on-screen.
Make your pages printer-friendly. This can be done automatically, using a ‘print’ CSS style-sheet. This page uses a print style-sheet derived from alistapart.com – follow the ‘Extra’ link. Extra
Take time to assess your target audience, their interests, needs and circumstances. Understanding your audience is essential to any form of communication. Use our worksheet planner to help you build up a clear picture of your potential site visitors: click on the Extra link. Extra ]
Not least, pray – both for planning and implementation. A church site has the potential to touch many needy people. We need the Lord’s wisdom for initial planning and strategy, and for ongoing effectiveness. It is a ministry that needs prayer.

Church Web Design Checklist

2007-01-25T15:09:00.000+10:00

There's a useful design checklist for church websites here ... I haven't dared assess our church website yet, but I think we're doing okay with the site designed by Paul Harvey for our freshchurch plant. Along with graphic design issues, the checklist asks useful questions like" "Is there a purpose statement displayed on the homepage which, while perhaps good at motivating your members, could be off-putting to some non-Christians because it is all about ‘reaching others for Christ’? Or do other aspects of the site give the impression ‘We are out to convert you’, rather than ‘We are a family of flawed real people, please come and share the journey with us.’" If so, deduct 15 points... a penalty only exceded in magnitude by having a non-functional splash page at the front of your site (-20)

Freshchurch Launch News

2007-01-24T09:29:00.000+10:00

Just to keep connected with the real world, here's a quick update on the "Freshchurch" publicity campaign. Our team has letterbox dropped around 3000 flyers in the Eatons Hill area, and handed out free oranges at a local shopping centre. Here's some great coverage from the "Northwest News"... click the image for a larger view.

Four Cardinal Design Rules - a Free Preview

2007-01-09T17:08:00.000+10:00

Happy New Year - and sorry for the lack of recent posts. I've mentioned before the excellent "Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams (Peachpit Press). Here's something cool - if you search for the book on Amazon, and then click to 'look inside", you get to read the page that summarises the four key design principles of Consistency, Alignment, Repetition and Proximity. It's the most important page in the whole book - and you get to read it free! Having said that, it's probably still worth buying the book...

Can anyone else recommend good design books? Leave a comment.

Even more bulletin makeover tips...

2006-12-31T14:24:00.000+10:00

Sarah van Delden says:

"Hi Phil. I had a look at Bryson's makeover of his bulletin. I'm glad to see people willing to give it a go in giving their service sheets a fresh coat of paint! Definitely an improvement on the whitespace and layout etc of the old one. I've had a go at cleaning up some of the alignment and reworking the layout to see if it can be made slighly more crisp.

"I've done up two variations, the first of which actually drops the list of things in the actual order of service. If this bulletin is more than just a single page, my recommendation would be to put it inside, allowing the front page to be a little less cluttered. If it is necessary to have it on the front page either keep it small so it doesn't distract, or as Bryson has done, make it unique so there is clearly a reason for it being there. His use of a shadowed box cutting out the side of the page in this case is an example of this.

Alignment is the key to success in bulletins. You will see in Bryson's version, there are a number of starting points for both vertical and horizontal alignment. By keeping everything within the bounds of the 'imaginary' box set by the width of the title you can maintain left & right alignment without the need for a physical black outline around the page. The words & whitespace themselves create the illustion of a neatly confined space.

Anyway hopefully these variations & tips will continue to help.

Regards,
Sarah"

Thanks Sarah. Always good to have tips from a pro!

Quick Advert Make-over

2006-11-16T17:52:00.000+10:00

Here's a quick re-work of an ad trying to encourage people to enrol for college courses. The first was produced in Microsoft Publisher; the revised version in Corel Draw. A couple of observations; WordArt is almost never artistic. I think it's best completely avoided. Second, heavy black borders usually don't work too well either. Finally, the whole alignment issue again raises its ugly head. Any thoughts?

Freshchurch Finals

2006-11-15T17:18:00.000+10:00

Still torn over whether to run with white or black for our Freshchurch ad campaign. (We're launching a new church at Eatons Hill on Brisbane's northside - these are for the letterbox drop.)

Your comments and preferences are welcome.

Beautiful Church Websites

2006-11-10T20:51:00.000+10:00

Here's a site worth clicking - ChurchBeauty.com is a gallery of the best church website designs. Classifications include categories like "Well written", "Clean", "Simple" and "Edgy." Thanks to Martin Howard for the tip.

The Word is worth a thousand pictures...

2006-11-09T15:05:00.000+10:00

Here's a conference that's worth investigating. Titled "Promoting the Word Through Image and Text," there's an action packed one-day program planned for November 25th at Ryde Anglican Centre. A large team of industry experts will address issues like effective copywriting, graphic design, video and powerpoint presentations. Sponsored by FEVA, it looks like a great program.

Three from PCPC

2006-11-09T09:58:00.000+10:00

Luke Tattersall at Parramatta City Presbyterian Church has come up with three great postcard sized ads for upcoming church events. If only someone would invite me to the Wine Appreciation night...

Some favourite sites from a design pro...

2006-11-04T19:10:00.000+10:00

Graphic designer Martin Howard from Media 7 offers a few favourite links:
Free stock photos
http://www.sxc.hu

Logo inpiration
http://www.misipile.com/

Progressive church web design....
http://www.kcrevolution.org/
http://www.dulleschurch.org/
http://www.discoverthecoast.com/
http://www.journeychurchnashville.com/

I'll add another church site to the list - www.latechurch.com, with design by Paul Harvey.

What the... font?

2006-11-04T19:00:00.000+10:00

As a follow on to recent font hunting requests, there's a useful service from Myfonts.com called "What the Font..." Just upload an image of the font you want, and they'll do the rest.

Testing with Stuart Atkinson's "cityside" font quest, the site matched the sample correctly with BodegaSans light - agreeing with our expert contributor Dave Cumberbeach.

Christmas - it's sooner than you think!

2006-11-01T17:23:00.000+10:00

Judging by the barrage of Christmas event designs I've come across lately, Christmas is just around the corner. Matthias Media's Christmas card range - always excellent - will this year be carrying a link to the More To Christmas website, which offers a free download of Luke's gospel in pdf format. Great idea guys!
Meanwhile, Wade Iedema from Southern Cross Presbyterian Church in Lismore has come up with this neat postcard to advertise their upcoming Christmas event.

Sarah van Delden has been busy designing the flyer for ChristChurch... featuring their brand new logo.

I'm feeling I've been left standing on the blocks with the design for our own "Christmas with the Stars" event. It's overly busy, and not quite working out the way I'd like. Any advice would be much appreciated.

CreateMinistry - from FEVA

2006-10-31T14:12:00.000+10:00

Create_Ministry: "Today’s world is a world of mass communication. We know everything about everyone, and companies and organizations know everything about us. Despite this, it seems that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ has slipped off the radar. Create is a ministry that aims to put Christ back on the world agenda through the very modes of communication that clutter and shape our Christless world."
Make sure you take a look at the gallery link. Here's a sample:

You give me FEVA

2006-10-31T14:07:00.000+10:00

FEVA - or, the "Fellowship for Evangelism in the Visual Arts" is an independent and interdenominational missionary organisation started in 1992 to bring the gospel to the world of the Visual Arts. This ranges from the obvious such as painting, sculpture, printmaking through to such things as film, advertising and even the field of architecture where FEVA runs a ministry to working architects called 'Christians By Design' (CBD). Since July FEVA has been designing posters for Outreach Posters, the ministry that puts posters in boxes out front of churches around Australia. Here's an example:

More Bulletin Makeovers

2006-10-31T10:25:00.000+10:00

Bryson Smith, from Dubbo Presbyterian Church, says: "I've bounced the site to a few people... I really enjoy it. Sarah's bulletin makeover made me think of our poor old tired bulletin which has been unchanged for many years. So I played with a couple of things and here's my before and after shots.

I tried to give a better line of sight for the page and increase the amount of white. I streamlined the fonts I used even further plus I wanted to make the "verse of the day" more the centre piece of the page (so as to show that the bible is at the heart of what we're on about.)

I think it can still be improved a lot and so (if it's not too embarrassingly poor) if you'd like to post it and get comments that might be fun. Some of my limitations though are that we have a very average copier and so any cool grey scale/ colour graphics just lose all effect."

As Bryson says, comments are welcome. I'll start with a couple. I like the re-working of the 'early church' banner with the contrasting fonts - due to the font contrast, you can actually run the two words together without a space, as in 'earlychurch' - and it may look better. The space interrupts the kick you get out of the contrast between the fonts. Regarding the font contrast, I'm assuming you've used Helvetica Neue black and light as the contrasting pair? I wonder if you'd be better off toning it down just a little; the black version of the font has distinctly different letter shapes to the light; is there a weight that keeps the same roundness in the characters, while still offering a strong contrast?

Rebadging a Ministry Training College

2006-10-30T14:47:00.000+10:00

What if... we wanted to re-badge the Consortium of Reformed Colleges? It's hypothetical for now, but the CRC is a prime candidate for a new name that's a little clearer, but still maintains the sort of dignity and tradition that makes colleges like Sydney's Moore and SMBC so appealing.

Let's start with a college crest. I borrowed the burning bush, cross and stars directly from the traditional Presbyterian Crest. (The bush, by the way, is a beautiful piece of design from a past era. It still looks great!)

Then, why not simplify the name from "Consortium of Reformed Colleges" to "Queensland Theological College", or QTC. Here are some early results:

In an attempt to add just a little bit of interest to the abbreviated version, I've extended the understroke on the Q to bring it almost across to the T. I guess it would be wise to do the same thing on the full-text version. As usual, comments are welcome.

A NOTE TO THOSE COMMENTING ON COLOURS: Please ignore the background colour, the gold-embossed rendering etc. These are just examples; the logo will appear in many different situations. I should have just shown it as a black image on white, but that's not nearly as much fun to look at.

A Banner for ChristChurch

2006-10-30T14:41:00.000+10:00

Martin Howard has been working on some brand identity material for Christ Church on Queensland's Goldcoast, for pastor Alan Radloff. Here's an advertising banner:

More Freshness...

2006-10-21T23:34:00.000+10:00

A draft poster for the Freshchurch launch campaign. Does the black background work for you? Does it need to follow the orange on white theme of the previous post?

Another useful website - Before & After

2006-10-18T14:08:00.000+10:00

Before & After magazine has been sharing its practical approach to graphic design since 1990. Dedicated to making graphic design understandable, useful and even fun for everyone, B&A specialises in makeovers. There's a pile of free stuff, but it's worth subscribing for the beautifully designed monthly features in pdf format. The cost: $US24 for 12 months.

Trying to do something Fresh...

2006-10-16T15:07:00.000+10:00

With the launch of our fresh new church at Eatons Hill, we want to make a splash. How about a citrus theme to pick up on the idea of freshness? We've grabbed the www.freshchurch.net web domain name, and we're ready for business. Here's our (tentative) opening move... maybe we'll follow up with postcards, and handing out fresh oranges at the local shopping complex?

Sweating the Small Stuff

2006-10-13T17:36:00.000+10:00

Here at Mitchelton Presbyterian Church we really know how to put first things first. What's the first thing you do when you're planting a new church? Choose some fonts... of course. (Bet they didn't tell you THAT at church planting school.)
Actually, it's not the first thing we've done as we've set about planting Eatons Hill Presbyterian Church - we've recruited a core group, we've run trial services, we've chosen a venue. It's only now, as we start working on publicity, that we need to decide on a 'corporate style' that will identify our new congregation. So, here's the first contender. Today we invested $39 in buying Halvorsen and Halvorsen Extra Bold from the Australian Type Foundry. (That's a 50% discount. If you want to know how we got it, leave a comment and I'll tell you the story.)

We haven't totally committed to Halvorsen yet - but if we do, the overall effect will be something like this:

Please let us know what you think.

Free Image Editor for PC

2006-10-13T11:50:00.000+10:00

Check out Photofiltre - it's a free bitmap editor for PC users, and after a quick look at the features, I'd have to say it's a brilliant reminder of the good ol' days of Paintshop Pro 4.0. Is it only me... or are paint programs just too complex these days? Half the time, I can't even fill an object in a colour without fussing around with mask tools that I don't quite understand. Photofiltre is quick, simple and responsive, and ideal for quick editing jobs. The price is right, too.

Brand Your Church?

2006-10-10T18:20:00.000+10:00

Nathan Campbell recently attended a marketing seminar with the guy responsible for marketing Virgin Blue. Should you "brand" your church? And what's a "brand" anyway? In fact, maybe you're branded already? Check out his report:

Brands that sizzle
Branding is a new marketing buzzword. It’s a concept that’s moved from the cattle stock yards to the biggest players on the stock market. Developing an established brand identity is the holy grail of marketing. Once a product has a recognisable brand it essentially sells itself, but a brand can lose its lustre so you have to work hard to maintain your brand. But what is a brand? How do you create brand recognition - how do you make your brand stand out from the pack?

What is a brand?
A brand is not your logo. Your logo is only a small part of your image. Nobody buys a logo. People want the product behind the logo. Your brand is the emotional response people have to the presentation of your product. It’s the first thing that pops into someone’s head when confronted with your logo. In the 1980’s Nike’s brand was cool, desirable and a sign of prosperity – now, just 20 years on the Nike swoosh represents sweatshop exploitation, American imperialism and all that is bad about globalisation. Nike has lost its branding. Different audiences have different understandings of the brand. Your brand is not the label you use to describe yourself – it’s the label others use to describe you. Marketing your brand is the way to equalise those perceptions.

Brand Recognition
Brand recognition develops over time, and through the clear, repeated communication of the key elements of your brand/product to customers. Brand recognition won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. An effective slogan will catch in people’s minds (like the shampoo slogan I just quoted). Coca Cola’s theory on marketing their brand is that a potential customer needs to come into contact with their brand 8 times for every sale. The theory is that subconsciously if you register the coke brand 8 times in the one day you’ll need a coke. There are much cheaper ways of developing that brand identity.

Marketing Principles
“There’s only one rule in advertising – but nobody knows what it is” – Sean Cummins, Cummins&Partners

“I know half my advertising works, only I don’t know which half” – some company executive quoted by Sean Cummins

Advertising and marketing are imprecise sciences but there are general principles you can employ to make sure your brand is as effective as possible.

1. Find your point of difference. In a world where there are thousands of options that all look the same you need to find the thing that defines your product and separates you from the rest of the pack. Selling the same product as the people next door in the same way isn’t going to bring more people through your doors.

2. Say one thing really well. Once you’ve found your focus – stick to it. Trying to communicate multiple messages at once means you’ve got too many balls flying in the air. Communicate one message that you want everyone to understand about your brand. If you try to send out too many messages the ball (your message) becomes too hard for your target to catch.

3. Do something different – because we live in a culture dominated by advertising anyone with a brain can churn out an ad – look for a different way to communicate your message. Do something quirky, eye catching. Don’t be bogged down in generic marketing talk. Avoid clichés like the plague. Don’t rely on icons to sell your product. The market is now looking for experiences rather than Kodak moments. Sell the experience of your product rather than the product itself.

4. Stay consistent. A brand is consistent. Consistency builds trust. Consistency demands action.

5. If you’re trying to figure out who your target audience is ask yourself “what sort of car is my product” – car companies spend millions of dollars on demographic research and know who to target their messages to. Look at the approach they take in their marketing and take those principles to your approach.

Sarah's Bulletin Makeover Tips

2006-10-10T17:41:00.000+10:00

Sarah says, "I thought i'd have a go....

I've used what you've done on the bulletin makeover... and tweaked it a bit...

the way i've layed it out should actually help the eye travel across all the information, where as in the original there was no real path. I've also increased the white space."

Thanks Sarah. Great job!

Contact Sarah if you need help...

2006-10-10T14:45:00.000+10:00

I just received an email from Sarah van Delden, who's helped out with lots of useful stuff over the past few years - like this brochure for the Consortium of Reformed Colleges. Sarah's starting a freelance design business, so if you're looking for a brochure design or a web site, give her a call. (She did a great job on the Year of Excellence Website at very short notice too.) Here's her email:
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Hi,

You're getting this email because you've probably already know that I do graphic design work and possible have done so for you in the past. I am writing to let you know that I'm now freelancing as a graphic designer full time and therefore am available for a wide range of one-off or even recurring design jobs!

Perhaps you have a small business, or are involved in a church but can't afford to get advertising material printed professionally let alone pay for a graphic designer to do the artwork! Well, that's where I can offer neat alternatives like affordable artworks that are in a format you can print yourself, either on your colour printer, or small runs can be printed at somewhere like office works! Have you ever considered the beauty of cheap photo printing these days? Did you know that a design on 6x4 matt/gloss photo paper is an impressive and affordable product!!

Why not check out my website www.sdesigns.com.au to see some of the work I've done in the past.

Of course, if its professionally printing quality you're after, I can offer the design of logos, business cards, letterheads, brochures, design templates etc.

Please contact me if you would like to talk through some options, or if you are in need of any graphic design work. Feel free to pass this attached flyer onto anyone you think would be interested.

Kindest Regards,
Sarah van Delden
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m: 0421 393 103
e: sarah@sdesigns.com.au
w: www.sdesigns.com.au
ABN 78 079 445 445

Love Your Neighbourhood Campaign

2006-10-10T14:35:00.000+10:00

We're playing with the idea of a "Love your Neighbourhood" theme for 2007 ... encouraging our church family to be local initiators of events like "Meet Your Street" and "Do Your Block"; street parties, acts of service like mowing a neighbours lawn, welcome packs for new residents. It's still taking shape, but here's a possible logo. I based it on a photo of a picket fence from dreamstime.com - simplified in Corel Draw. There's still plenty of time to work on it between now and the launch next January.

Why bother?

2006-10-10T14:33:00.000+10:00

Cool cartoon that Garnet Swann emailed me today. Says it all.

Bulletin Makover - Where would you start?

2006-10-10T14:02:00.000+10:00

Here's a partial makeover of the inside page of a church bulletin. It's not going to be rescued completely, but it's a start. First of all, notice the dodgy birthday cake. On the basis of the 'bad clipart rule', it has to go...

While we're at it, let's left-align the associated text. We'll change the positions of the two blocks of information, and put birthdays at the bottom so the new photo-object cake can hang underneath. (It's from dreamstime.com). I've changed fonts, and chosen to use Bell Gothic and Bell Gothic Black to give contrast. It's going to look better to left-align the title text as well; and of course, replace the fonts. Next will come the central text box... (Click images for a larger view.)

But what are we going to do with the box of oddly aligned text on the left? Should we left-align it? Or maybe right-align it to meet the same visual guide line holding the righthand column of text? Mmm. Suggestions welcome.

Finding a Font

2006-10-10T08:24:00.000+10:00

"Can you tell me if there is an easy way to find this font?" asks Stuart Atkinson. "I have looked on dafonts, but could take years...."

At first glance, it looks like Gil Sans MT Extra Condensed Bold. Any other suggestions?