Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Logo, Poster and Large-Format Print Design

Logo Design for Woodlands Community Church

Andrew Kelsall — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:25:34 PST

I was approached by David Fletcher from the Woodlands Community Church in Sheffield, England, after viewing my logo designs for St Luke’s.

David stated that the characteristics of the logo would have to have be: simplicity, community, purity, peace, vibrancy, modern and natural. David had one idea in mind for the logo design, but he also wanted another concept altogether.

The image below shows a section of proofs I sent David as part of a PDF (concept a). This was my own concept, which I thought fitted the project brief rather well. This was the logo description in the proof file:

a1 & a2 show a design concept based upon an oak leaf and acorn. The acorn can symbolise growth, which is a good message for any expanding church to convey. Also, the coloured-version of the oak leaf has an crucifix within it, that is more subliminal than obvious. I can make this more/less prominent at your request.

The second concept was based on David’s idea, which he drew a rough sketch of and emailed to me. Athough David isn’t a designer by any means, the sketch was good enough for me to gage what he wanted in the design. The whole concept was way to busy initially, but I managed to simplify the whole look, structure and appeal of the design concept:

b1 & b2 show a design concept based on the sketch you kindly provided. I have simplified it into a more
meaningful and coherent emblem. This is a more complicated and less simplistic design compared to
concept a.

Although the first logo was well-received, David and the Church committee preferred the second concept. However, some members were wondering what the logo design would look like with various additions, such as fruit and a crucifix included in the imagery:

Obviously, such additions made the design look even more crowded and complicated. After they reviewed the designs, it was agreed that the first solution was simpler and clearer—and I was thankful they arrived at the same opinion I held.

After some final tweaking, this was the end result below. I may be doing a letter-head for the Woodlands Community Church soon, so I may update this post in the near future.

I haven’t gone into the smaller details (such as sketches, etc) in this post, as I’ve just completed another set of five logos for another company, which I will soon be writing on in much more detail. Be sure to subscribe to the Andrew Kelsall RSS Feed so you don’t miss it.

What do you think of the designs and colours? I’d like to read your opinions….Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Logo Design for Woodlands Community Church

Have you watched the new iMac Video?

Andrew Kelsall — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:23:19 PDT

Okay, I use Macs, but I don’t normally write articles about them. However, in this case I’ll make an exception—as the new 27″ iMac was launched a few days ago.

My first Mac was a G4 Quicksilver with a 23″ LCD display and then a G4 Cube. Afterwards, I invested heavily in a dual-core, liquid-cooled G5 until finally settling on my current 24″ iMac.

I do a fair amount of large-format print, and it handles large documents fine, so I’m sure that the newer iMacs are even more powerful workhorses—and they run silently, unlike the tower Mac Pros.

On the official Apple site, there’s quite an awesome, very down-to-earth yet visually stunning video all about the new iMacs which can be viewed on their site.

If you’re a Mac user or not, the 6 minute video is quite amazing and I’ve watched it twice. It also features both the music of Bloc Party and features the new Star Trek movie, which is pretty great too

Do you use a Mac? Would you consider upgrading?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Have you watched the new iMac Video?

Learn Something New Every Day

Andrew Kelsall — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:45:00 PDT

Whilst on Twitter yesterday, I followed a link via @Retinart (Alex Charchar) regarding a great new site aptly named Learn Something New Every Day.

It has weird and wonderful facts that are illustrated and updated daily. Here are 10 such facts from the site, with amusingly simple yet effective and colourful images. Don’t rely on these facts for accuracy, but I’m sure they’re true

“Star Fish have no brains”

“The brain is 80% water”

“4000 year old cheese was found in Egyptian Tombs”

“Jim Henson developed an allergy to fleece”

“Golf is the only sport to be played on the Moon”

“90 percent of the Worlds species are yet to be discovered”

“penguins are able to jump 2 metres high”

“Shakespeare was dyslexic”

“A Rubiks Cube has 43250032744898856000 possible positions”

“Sherlock Holmes never said Elementary, my dear Watson”
ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT of LearnSomethingNewEveryDay.co.uk.

PS, If you want to follow me on Twitter, I’m @AndrewKelsall (yes, very hard to guess)…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Learn Something New Every Day

Colours by GF Smith

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:30:43 PDT

I love to collect paper samples. As a designer, you never know when one will come in handy—plus they look cool on your shelf! This is one of my favourite collections, Colours by GF Smith Paper. What’s so stunning about this box set is the vast array samples it actually contains. The box set holds four beautifully made books that are packed with textured and smooth paper samples.

If you’re into print design I definitely recommend a set like this. I received it from GF Smith a few years back (for free) and it has been a source of inspiration for me when considering paper types.

As can be seen in the image gallery below, there’s everything from smooth coated stock, to parchment/marbled paper and “Specials“, which contain Metallic Gold, Pearl Ridged and Carbon Papers. Okay, enough waffling, here are the photos which don’t do this fabulous book any real justice…

Do you collect paper samples? Which one’s are your favourite? How often do you use speciality paper stock?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Colours by GF Smith

The Secret of Tracking Keywords

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:42:00 PDT

Have you ever been in a situation when you’re writing a blog post, but have no idea how many of your keywords have been used? Well, if you’re like me, you’ll find a very handy FireFox add-on extremely helpful.

It goes by the name of Wordtracker SEO Blogger—and it deserves this title. Once installed you simply type in your desired keyword in the search box. For example, when I wrote my article How to Design a Mockup Pallet Racking, I typed the word foamex. Now, this word appeared at the top of the list with 83 searches. To use this word I simply chose “add” and it was entered into the “chosen keywords” list (shown in the image below).

This is the amazing part: every time you use a keyword, the Wordtracker SEO Blogger Addon adds it in a column so you always know how many times it has been used. As can be seen, I have used the word foamex 25 times, which seems quite a lot. However, the article in question was nearly 2500 words long, so simple maths places the use of that keyword to roughly 1%—perfect.

As can also be seen, I have used words such as pallet racking, correx and industrial velcro in various amounts (based on the importance of the keyword).

Does it work? Well, it certainly does help, although for the article in question, the keyword foamex is a very niche word. The search results shown below, display the top 2 listings in Google for the keywords Foamex Designer. Both the links are for both my articles on Foamex designs (How to Design a Mockup Pallet Racking and Large-Format Foamex Design for Next Distribution).

It just goes to show how there is very effective way of tracking keywords and it’s no secret—like many would want it to be (so a competitive edge may be sought).

I’m no expert on using keywords, but I hope this article can help you out. If you’re a Firefox user I recommend this great addon—and I believe it will do your site or blog real justice.

Have you been using this addon? What do you think of it? Has it helped your listings within search results?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

The Secret of Tracking Keywords

First Video Post: My New Business Card Design

Andrew Kelsall — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:03:58 PDT

Recently, I had over 4000 My New Business Cards printed, and I had planned to write a post about it. Moreover, I had been toying with the idea of producing a video for this blog for a while now, so I whipped out my HandyCam and filmed this 5-minute video explaining the new business card design.

Okay, it’s my first attempt, so I set the recording resolution too low, it has some random boxes showing at the top of the frame, it was unrehearsed and for some strange reason, I kept saying “urrrr” every 10 seconds. However, I hope you get the gist of what I’m trying the explain.

I discuss the Equest® card I used, 10mm round-cornering, Pantone® spot colors and typography. Here goes:

Business Card Design from Andrew Kelsall on Vimeo.

As stated, comments and questions are welcomed…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

First Video Post: My New Business Card Design

How I customized my Blog #5: Conclusion

Andrew Kelsall — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:06:39 PDT

When I first started this blog over a year ago, I started a series aptly entitled How I customized my Blog #1 (see also parts 2, 3 & 4). My aim was to document my step-by-step approach setting up this site. However, since then I have shifted the focus of this site onto posts about my own work processes and technical articles about graphic design in general.

I intend to write about more of the unique projects I work on like Design of a large Foamex® Pitwheel, How to get a design job using tinned meat and Case Study of Logo Designs for St Luke’s church.

I also want to write more quality posts on color, such as What are the Benefits of Designing in RGB for CMYK Print? and the very popular The Professional Designer’s Guide to using Black.

I’m still finding my feet in the whole blogging arena, so I apologize for cutting the series short. I am considering designing my own unique template design from scratch when time permits, so carrying-on this series seems somewhat pointless.

However, If you have any questions about customizing your own Wordpress templates, this is intended to be a sort-of “open post”, whereby I will try and answer any questions about the [limited] knowledge I have about the subject.Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How I customized my Blog #5: Conclusion

How to Design a Mockup Pallet Racking

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 07:06:13 PDT

Back in November ‘08, I wrote an article about a 2 metre high Foamex® PitWheel I designed for a Next, Plc Distribution warehouse. Well, this time I was contracted to design a ‘mockup pallet racking system‘ to fill 3 walls of a new room, built inside another one of their new warehouses in Manvers Way, Wath, UK.

Why?

As part of a new multi-million-pound venture, a new warehouse was constructed to pick larger, non clothing items for Next Stores nationwide, as well as the Next Directory. Picking is carried out using mechanical ‘lollops’, but the Next training department wanted to train new employees away from the health & safety dangers of these machines. They needed to train people on how to pick items using various barcode systems before using any machinery, in short.

What I my task was…

The solution to training new employees away from the warehouse hazards (in the early stages of training) was to re-create a life-like working environment. So, I was tasked with the great challenge of designing a 2.4m high x 15m wide set of racking for a room that was only just being built. Oh yes.

How I rose to the Challenge

I shall now outline how the project proceeded, from initially visiting the site—right the way to actually constructing the mockup pallet racking in the allocated room. Here goes…

◥ This is a typical aisle in the warehouse on the second floor. The left-hand side shows one type of pallet racking—with the right showing another type (with ‘yellow bars’) that required replicating in Foamex®.

◥ After taking many photos, here came the most important aspect of the project—measuring-up. I whipped out my Moleskine® notebook at various stages of being escorted around the warehouse to jot-down exact—yes, exact measurements of everything I required to start conceptualising the racking structure.

If I got this part wrong, the whole project would go awry. Seriously, I advise you that if you are ever asked to do something like this, only settle for rough handwriting, not rough measurements.

Photography

◥ Now, second in importance to the measurements were accurate photographs. By ‘accurate’, I mean precise in relation to my goals for this project. I had already conceptualised in my mind how I would start producing the designs on my Mac, so I required certain, detailed and well-angled shots to accomplish the task in hand.

◥ Back at the desk, I imported all my images into iPhoto® from a 10MP digital Cannon SLR (which, admittedly, I borrowed from my Dad for this project). I then just dragged the required snaps from this application straight into PhotoShop®.

◥ This photo sums up my first real challenges this project brief threw at me. As can be seen, the racking wasn’t just perfectly straight. The main steel orange and blue bars were, but underlying racking was skewed, distorted, covered in tie-wraps and shrouded in protecting black foam. Replicating how the racking actually looked with ‘worts-and-all‘ wasn’t on my agenda.

Yeah, it had to real, but it had to function as a working-design; out of the ‘natural environment’ and into a projected notion of itself. In short, the racking, as I saw it, had to represent the racking positively, without its negatives—just like a model who is airbrushed for a glossy magazine.

Working in Photoshop®

◥ To create a coherent design that retained the authenticity of the photography, yet was scalable and replicable, I decided after some experimentation, to map certain photographic features of the racking onto solid blocks of colour.

◥ In this example, I took the detail of a weld from the end of an orange racking support; “mapping” it onto a very generic-looking Photoshop® mockup using gradients and basic shading features.

◥ The top of this image shows some elements I extracted from a photo, which I over-laid (mapped) onto the generic-mockup. I then used similar methods for the grey shelving elements.

◥ I used one art-board in Photoshop® to start sizing-up elements, assessing how they would relate to each other. The sponge texture was taken straight from the photography and seamlessly repeated.

◥ This image shows how I began to map some shelving “fixing” elements over a proportioned blue racking bar. As always, the most crucial aspect of this project was correct measurements, proportions and unity.

◥ After completion of the “fixing” elements and background, I started to look at how well it integrated with the rest of the pallet racking design.

◥ This is how some of the racking was starting to look. Every-so-often, I would zoom-out to ensure all was well with the design work. Keeping my “eye on the ball” was crucial.

◥ When everything was in proportion, I started work on smaller details that added a 3D feel to the designs. Here, I have started work on a shadow, which is situated behind an orange racking-support.

◥ In-all, I had to design three separate sets of racking design, as shown above. I have set layer transparencies in Photoshop® at varied levels so they can be shown against each other clearly.

◥ This pallet racking was higher than the others, so I had to be careful when matching the “holes” (in the blue vertical bars) to the smaller pallet racking design.

◥ This was the room that was being constructed for the Foamex® design. It was made from plasterboard and aluminium supports, with a wooden door.

◥ Because of the fact that plasterboard was used in the construction, it meant that I could use nails or screws to attach the designs if needed. However, this wasn’t how I was to attach them (more on this later).

As can been seen, the building contractors used a 4″ high skirting board around the base of the wall. This meant that the foam board style design couldn’t rest on the floor, which was a pity, but sometimes compromises have to be made.

◥ When I designed some pallets (in two separate sizes) to be used in the design, I simply used my own measurements to design a flat-pallet shape, and map the pallet-wooden-texture onto this shape I created.

◥ Each pallet was coded either A,B or C, depending on where it would be situated doing construction. In fact, all the racking was coded, too, making it easier identify the varied sections of the designs. Note: It always pays to think ahead.

◥ This is an example of the type of boxes that were located on the shelving racking at Next DVP (when I took the photographs).

◥ To make a mockup box in Photoshop®, I simply transformed it into the size required, and used layer masks to hide elements of it (mostly the edges) that I didn’t require.

◥ After this was done, I created a mockup-box shape, filled it with brown—and overlaid the original masked-image. This method, like the racking, created a very realistic yet very generic/unified look and feel to the designs.

Printing onto Foamex®

◥ When all the elements of the design were nearing completion, I set up a document which was exactly one-quarter size of the intended output print-size @ 400dpi. The designs were to be printed onto two 5mm Black Foamex® sheets measuring 2.5 metres wide x 1.5 metres high. Setting up the resolution at 400dpi meant that the whole design was printed at 100dpi, which is adequate for large format printing.

◥ Here is another example of the types of boxes I reconstructed digitally. These bore the warning “FRAGILE”, so I saw it quite fitting to include messages such as this in the designs. I also used “HEAVY” messages and varied symbols and arrow warnings.

I also made sure I erased the information and barcodes included on the white box labels. I did this so that when the boxes were printed, the trainers at Next could place their own scannable-labels onto the designs, as requested.

◥ This image shows the file to be used for large format printing for the second Foamex® board. As shown, the whole design is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, with all the elements required squeezed into place; to fit-in as many extra boxes as possible.

◥ In between the boxes, racking shelving and pallet designs, I left some white space so when they were printed, the folks at the printers could cut them out individually—”knowing which bit was what”.

I also indicated which parts were to be cut-out using “Trim” text, as well as phone discussions and instructions by email.

◥ Built-in contingency: In some of the “spare spaces” in the files, I created some extra few inches of racking shelving, just in case. If I had measured the wall wrong, for example, I would have extra lengths of racking to lengthen it when it was assembled. However, if the racking was too long, I could simply cut some off with a scalpel and metal ruler.

Design Proofs

◥ When the designs were ready to be sent to the printers, I printed off the proofs with an A4 colour laser-printer (Magicolor® 2530) ready for both review and approval by the client. The first page was formulated of a description of the designs and detail.

Design mockups

◥ I thought it prudent to print another set of designs and cut the main individual pieces out with a scalpel and ruler. I then used my kitchen table to lay-out the paper pieces to make sure of the following:

That I had the right amount of racking posts and shelving.
To ensure the pieces were in proportion to each other
To gage how the pallets would look under the racking sections.
To ensure, simply put, that the design truly “worked as a whole”.

After I laid the pieces out on the table, I was satisfied with how it all fit-together and looked. After preparing the artwork, I emailed them to the printers, along with the corresponding quotation number.

Foamex® Delivery & Assembly

◥ The people at the print-house printed the designs onto a special paper, and bonded it onto two large sheets of Black 5mm Foamex®, sealing it with an anti-scratch coating. Then, they used special cutting equipment to cut-out the individual pieces.

They then wrapped the Foamex® segments in bubble-wrap, placed then in a large wooden box, along with some industrial velcro (hooks and loops) and posted them to the client.

◥ After a couple of email exchanges about when I would construct the racking design, I visited the Next Dearne Valley Palletised site to assemble the Foamex® pieces.

◥ This is Industrial Velcro, which is very strong and is more-than-capable in holding Foamex®, Foam Board, MDF and Correx® to a flat surface. After fixing about 25 separate large-format Foamex® designs to walls and notice boards in the past, I have seen the benefits of using velcro to assemble these designs.

My own method is to attach lengths of the hooks and loops of the industrial velcro first, stick the strips together, peel off the backing from the “loops” length of the velcro and stick this side to the underside of the Foamex® (obviously, this would work for MDF board, foam board, etc, too).

◥ Constructing the design wasn’t easy—as the shelving elements of the pallet racking had to line-up exactly to the vertical bars. Moreover, once the velcro hooks side was attached to the wall, it was a permanent action, as removing it would take the paint off the new plasterboard walls.

It was therefore a rather tricky task attaching the Foamex® board to walls in the exact places required. I used a tape measure and spirit-level to aid me during this process.

The Finished Foamex® Pallet Racking Design

◥ Once I assembled the pallet racking elements, I evenly distributed the various boxes and pallets in between the pallet racking and shelving.

◥ The large foam design stands out clearly from new new white-painted walls of the training room.

◥ In this view, the 5mm thickness of the Black Foamex® can be seen, giving the racking design a very prominent 3D appearance.

◥ The final step in the completion of the design will be for the Next training staff to attach what barcodes they need on the racking edges and boxes in their own time.

I will be doing some more foam designs for Next soon, which will have some “spare” space available in some of the Foamex® boards, where there can be some extra boxes printed to fill-out the design. It would look fuller with more boxes included, but the budget only allowed for printing onto two 2.5 metre x 1.5metre foam boards.

Conclusion

This was a fantastic and inspiring project to work on. It’s great to work on projects where what you’re doing is a really custom job, with nothing else out-there to match it. I’ve worked with Foamex® now plenty of times, and although I also love to design posters, logos and other printed matter, producing customised solutions is my true nature as a graphic designer.

I’ve yet to work with MDF board or standard Foam Board, but I’ve produced Correx® signs before. Bar far, however, Foamex® has the durable capacity to produce large-format designs out of. It’s bendable, pliable, cuttable and very strong (being made of a plastic/foam composite). The use of Foamex® and Industrial Velco worked perfectly for this task—but the other material mentioned would have lacked the durability required.

I can’t really think of anything I would have done differently in this job (or “challenge”, I may call it). I made accurate mathematical calculations, analysed the racking and photography properly—and applied them to a creative agenda.

I don’t believe I’ve done something special personally, as any good graphic designer is capable of producing this kind of work. If you’re a designer and have never produced work like this before, why not give it a try? Please ask me any questions about the design in the comments section below.

Finally, a bit of self-promotion…

If you would like me to work on a custom project like this for you, please contact me or use my Hire Me online form. If the project requires assembling, like this example, I’m a very ‘hands-on’ designer and can qive you a quotation inclusive of this. Generally, I will travel up to 50 miles away from the Leeds area, but costing for longer distances is not ruled out.Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How to Design a Mockup Pallet Racking

Case Study: Identity, Branding and Signage for St Luke’s Church

Andrew Kelsall — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:34:34 PDT

This is a case study for logo designs, identity, branding and signage I produced for a local Church Organisation, St Luke’s. It is one of my older projects, but I didn’t author a blog when I produced the designs, so now is a great time to talk on the brief and design processes.

I was asked by Pastor Martyn Sullivan at St Luke’s Church, South Elmsall UK, to design a fair few logo design concepts for them—and the additional organisations that were affiliated with St Luke’s. These were The Family Centre, The Hope Centre, The Rainbow Nursery (and Rainbow Preschool), LifeTime Ltd, LiveLink and The LiveLink Shop.

The Brief

The challenge of the brief was to create a set of designs that were both individual, yet obviously part of a branding and identity structure. For example, if “someone” saw both the St Luke’s logo and the Rainbow Nursery logo, they had to know that the designs were part of the same organisation.

Fortunately, the project had a decent budget (obviously not revealed because of designer/client confidentiality) so I could go ahead and design many pages of designs, along with an explanation of how the designs were to be unified.

Initial Logo Designs

Here are the pages/designs that I attained from the printers, produced in A3-size for Martyn and other relevant staff members to view:

1◥ This design was based on the St Luke’s logo inclusive of the image of a Bible with a bow tied to it. This bow was then used to promote the St Luke’s brand throughout the rest of the logo designs.

2◥ This concept was based on uniting the church and subsequent organisations with bands of colour. A horse and rider with a flag were used as a way to show the Church moving forward. In this concept, the actual church name was included in all the organisation logo’s too, making the connection very clear.

Sidenote: This logo set was really well-received, but wasn’t chosen as it was noticed that the horse symbol could be seen as a “crusading rider”—and subsequently be offensive to some religious groups.

3◥ The idea behind this concept was to utilise simple shapes to unify the shop, centres, charity and church. All the “button logo’s” were branded with the “Part of St Luke’s” tagline.

4◥ The classic shield concept. I gave quite a few options on the designs of this Shield Logo set. Each part of the organisation contained a symbol of its own to accompany the dove, which was used on the main St Luke’s emblem.

5◥ In a very similar flavour to the shield-concept, but utilising the box shape, colour and river to unify the organisation and church. As can [just] be seen, the connection works in Black+White also.

6◥ This concept was based on the Christian Fish Symbol, with each of the partner logos containing the fish that “spearheads the set”. This was the chosen concept—and the rest of this article is dedicated to exploring it…

Concept 6: The Logos chosen for development

As stated, logo design concept 6 was chosen by the client, as basically, it embodied the whole ethos of St Luke’s—which is a contemporary church that was “on the move”. Other “religious” churches in the area bore the crucifix, but St Luke’s wanted to stand out and be different, using a different symbol of Christianity.

◥ After some reasoning and variations on the main church logo designs, these two were chosen. Gone is the rigid, square box the previous logo was contained in. Now, the design is more fitting with the brush-stroke-centred design of the rest of this “logo family”. Two designs were created, with one bearing the tagline “A Church on the move“.

◥ The Rainbow Nursery logo. This, like all the logos in the collection, uses different weights of Helvetica Neue. There’s nothing ground-breaking about this font—there’s no need for it to be. It works well, with different, varied weights combined with tight tracking are used to create a contemporary look, whilst reducing the line-length of longer names.

TYPOGRAPHY ◥ The Rainbow Preschool logo. Similar as the previous one, except for the wording that creates a slightly longer line-length. All these logos displayed here show the “signage-versions” of the church logo designs, with a coloured-bar at the base of the logos. The stationary versions do not include this addition.

FORM & SHAPE ◥ The Hope Centre logo. As can be seen, the Christian fish symbol is contained in a circle in all the additional logo designs. This “device” is symbolic of a brush which “paints” the varied shapes. Here, a flame is used to symbolise Hope.

COLOUR ◥ The Family Centre logo. The business logo colours for each logo have been chosen to best suite either the notion or shape design. The Hope Centre utilised yellow—and this one a “Royal Purple”, I would hope for obvious reasons.

LOGO BRANDING ◥ The LiveLink logos. LiveLink, The LiveLink Shop and Lifetime Ltd are all part of the same sub-organisation within the St Luke’s organisation as a whole. Yeah, it gets complicated, so I decided to to make the logo branding match in regards to colour and form.

◥ I treated Lifetime Ltd slightly differently to the other two logos, as requested by the client, as it was the “head” of the sub-organisation. a “river” concept was chosen to emphasise “life” is a very gentle and non-direct manner.

◥ Here is the signage design I created for The LiveLink Shop. I have included the tagline “Part of St Luke’s“, as there was room to do so—and added to the purpose to the sign.

◥ I drove past the shop recently to take a photo of how the sign looks. Apart from the telephone wires hanging in the way, I think it does the shop justice. I’ve made the rest of the photo B+W to highlight it better—it was a poor photo from a low-res phone camera!

◥ This is the sign that I designed and handed to the client, ready for print. However, somewhere down the line, more text was added at the base before printing, which I didn’t do.

◥ Again, I tried to take a photo of it on my dodgy camera, after forgetting to charge my proper one, D’oh!

◥ This is the signage design for The Rainbow Nursery, although I don’t yet have a photo of this sign yet.

Letterhead Designs, Business Cards & Stationary

For each logo, I created a business card design with the usual business and contact details contained on them:

ST LUKE’S CARD, FRONT ◥ The front of this card is designed using just one spot [Pantone®] colour.

BUSINESS CARD, BACK ◥ The reverse is full-colour, as it is inclusive of all the Church, Charity and Organisation logo branding.

HOPE CENTRE CARD, FRONT ◥ Rather than display the designs for all the church logo designs, I will focus on the Hope Centre stationary. As can be seen, each business card is branded with its corresponding colour; fused together with a the partial fish symbol formation on the right.

BUSINESS STATIONARY, HOPE CENTRE ◥ The envelope design, compliment slip and letterhead designs all used the same colour scheme and graphical-orientations to promote a unified branding structure throughout.

BUSINESS STATIONARY, ST LUKE’S ◥ Unlike the business card design, the rest of the stationary just used one Pantone® colour to reduce printing costs. However, the whole branding still looked professional and coherent.

Project Summary

Overall, this was a fantastic project to work on. At times, it was rather challenging; keeping track of all the logo iterations, files, folders and paths/non-paths file versions—and not the mention the numerous design decisions made.

It was a much bigger undertaking than I originally thought, and I have progressed and learned much with the experience of the whole project. Not all the stationary is as yet printed, nor the web URL’s up and running.

When I look back upon the work I undertook for St Luke’s Church, related organisations and charities, I believe I have created a useful, coherent and original branding structure that stands-out from the crowd.

What do you think of the designs? In what ways do you think I could have improved upon the designs. Is there any aspect of the project you would have done differently? I’d like to hear your opinions…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Case Study: Identity, Branding and Signage for St Luke’s Church

TwittBits: A Lazy Sunday Afternoon for Designers?

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:30:18 PDT

Lately, I’ve have a few projects going on all at once—and I’m having some difficulty trying to write articles for two blogs due to my workload. One thing I’m learning at the moment is to not start article series (like How I customized my Wordpress Blog & What are Color Gamuts? ) until I can fully commit to them. I do intend to carry on the article series that I start, but I can’t guarantee I will get around to writing them soon. Articles like that simply take more time to write.

However, I was on Twitter today, and I wondered how busy other designer’s were on this, so-called “lazy Sunday afternoon”. Is there such a thing for a designer? With this in mind, I asked this question to other designer’s on Twitter:

What are you doing today?

It’s sort of like the original Twitter question, but for designers. These were my varied responses:

★ @craigspeirs Tidying up the house and also listening to Greatest Hits. Then will sit down and search for an LCD monitor to buy

★ @netWire working… :S

★ @traceygr Despite being busy with web & print design work right now, I’ve taken Sunday off. To-do list tonight to get the week going.

★ @kgrz I’ve seen 2 movies today, Will see more And then, I’ll probably draw an idea for a logo for a friend of mine!

★ @retinart Been wadding through the CSS for my new site design, enjoying the momentary departure from print.. what about you?

★ @RichardCarter swimming, sketching over a cup of coffee somewhere and then listening to a few web-themed podcasts later tonight

★ @jannicamorton hanging with the family and not even starting up my computers!

★ @VizionThree I’m sorting through my massive list of bookmarks and porting them over to Google Bookmarks.

★ @StephenTiano Friends visit today, tomorrow back to day-job & call client on teaching-reading boxed set to get us back on the same page.

★ @ckfio hanging out with my family

★ @BrenniFresh I’m watching soccer today and workin up a soccer logo/ club identity.

★ @garrick_s I’m doing chores around the house today. No design work.

★ @seanio putting my portfolio together. and you? [replied on Twitter]

★ @AndyL81 spending time with my wife and daughter, yard work, then later today some logo design work

★ @MeMBNandURB It’s Sunday and it’s raining, so … relaxing, replying to emails, listening to some new music promo’s. No design today.

★ @Rockhoward001 *sigh* making edits to a site, building a wp theme, designing a forum, emailing…lots of emailing, and editing photos.

★ @jchronowski47 winding my springs. Break out of this codependent funk

★ @designshard Thinking about and making a list of features to include on texturelovers.com in the future, i like to stay in front!

★ @svolinsky writing html for new website and thinking about strategy for company’s twitter

★ @normalslife Looks like finishing up a website and going to a baby shower. I know… international lady of mystery I am not.

★1 @tommsinclair Finished a small freelance project and updated my portfolio adding 3 small freelance dev projects to it! http://bit.ly/kiTtU ★2 Oh and I just did a new blog post all about it http://bit.ly/Y72Pz

★ @ktshipp creating after effects video on the ten commandments for church

★ @starchildluke Answer to question: went to see a mate to discuss some t-shirt designs and a possible collaboration

★ @Laughing_Lion Editing photographs for a photobook.

★ @lornamorris Taken a day off and spent it with my family in the sunshine.

★ @cthomp7777 Chillaxin’ and gonna go look for some zines.

★ @justcreative Seeing though it is night, probably sleeping.

*Italics represent my own editorial changes and denote either websites or other information I am unwilling to promote. No offense is intended—as all replies are appreciated.

The results of my original question indicate at least half of the featured designer’s are still busy dabbling in a design project or personal task in one way or another, which is valuable time spent.

However, some designers are spending time with their families, which is priceless. What was I doing this afternoon? I packed the car for a short break, make sure my mobile broadband connection was installed on my Macbook to take away with me, had a BBQ, finished a clients’ web template, studied the color on my new business cards, took my dog for a walk, looked after the kids, went shopping…and wrote this article, sigh…

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this Twitbits article and for sharing these insights into your daily lives on Sunday…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

TwittBits: A Lazy Sunday Afternoon for Designers?

How I (in theory) increased my Google Pagerank

Andrew Kelsall — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:32:58 PDT

A few weeks ago, I noticed that my most popular article The Profesional Designer’s Guide to using Black had a Google Pagerank of 3. All well-and-good, however the Pagerank of my AndrewKelsall.com homepage had a PR of just 2. Huh? I thought. How could this be?

I took a look at the code on all the links within the sidebars of my homepage—and discovered that none of them were “no follow” links. Now, I know some basic SEO, like all blogger’s do, so I had a theory based on a previous article I had read, that I was sharing my homepage PR to such an extent, that it lobbed-off an entire level of pagerank.

Of course, this was just a theory, but I deduced that if I changed said-links to “no follow” tags, eventually, the PR’s would reverse—giving my homepage PR3, whilst said-article, PR2. Four weeks later, this was exactly the case!

I’m writing the results of this experiment for two reasons: as to help to anyone in a similar situation—and if anyone could possibly shed some light on whether or not my conclusion was right. What do you thinks of this. Did my “no follow” theory work, or just coincidence?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How I (in theory) increased my Google Pagerank

Velvet Ant feature: Ghosts of design work past

Andrew Kelsall — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:41:16 PDT

Recently, Antonea Nabors, author of VelvetAnt.net asked me if I wanted to contribute to a new article named Ghosts of design work past.

The whole purpose of this article was for designer’s to, er, “showcase” a piece of design-work from their past, whereby the quality of the work wasn’t up-to-scratch, to say the least. The article starts:

Do you remember your very first school project? How about the first website you ever made a profit off of? It is a real treat to see a designer transform and evolve into a professional by taking at look back at where they started. Our early work isn’t something we should be ashamed of. It should be used as a visual timeline to monitor our continues growth and gain in our profession. The following 18 designer’s took a trip down memory lane [...]

My submission and explanation shows a Billboard design from back at University—nine years prior. If you want to check it out, and the other works from the likes of Jacob Cass, Lauren “LaurenMarie” Krause, Chris Spooner, Andy Sowards and Stuart Thursby—then head over to VelvetAnt.

Warning, be prepared to see some questionable design Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Velvet Ant feature: Ghosts of design work past

Billings 3 for Mac OS X—Professional Invoicing

Andrew Kelsall — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:29:20 PDT

What is Billings 3*?

Billings 3 is an excellent billing and invoicing tool, which is solely for Mac OS X 10.4 and higher. The following article is my own review of the software after using it.

Once installed, which is an easy enough task, my first step was to see if there were any software updates before I used it. Intuitively, I visited the Billings Menu—and clicked on Check for Updates—and within a couple of minutes, the software was updated.

Before proceeding, I would strongly advise that you go to the Help Menu, then read through the Billings 3 Guide. At first, I didn’t do this and instead just got myself confused when trying to work it out myself—especially regarding the use of Timers (which I will come to later on).

How to use Billings…

One of the first steps I made when using billings was to set up a client. This can be done easily—and your clients can also be imported form the Mac Address Book application.

Once a client is chosen, you simply create a new project, with various other options that are very intuitive to follow. From there, you create Working Slips (which are the line-items on an invoice). Once these simple steps are complete, you are able to start working on a project—keeping track of every minute you spend working on it. What’s good about this software is that these slips can be timed at a flat fee—or by the minute.

Screenshot of Billings Copyright of MarketCircle | *By Affiliate.

Timers

This takes me to the subject of Timers. You can easily set-up a timer that corresponds to each working slip on a given project to record how much time you have spent working on it. For example, if I was working on a project that required internet research, I could create a timer (which handily appears in the Mac menu bar), simply clicking on it like a stop-watch to record how long you’ve spent on a task—and it will be billed accordingly in an invoice.

Invoices

Once all working slips on a particular project are complete, you simply create an invoice and send it to a client. There are many professional templates to choose from, or you can create your own from scratch (with your logo on, etc).

There is also a wealth of information contained in the left sidebar, which amongst other things, shows the balances which are overdue in red. The accounting software is professional, too, with retainer and tax options galore—but all displayed with ease-of-use in mind.

Conclusion

All-in-all, Billings 3 is a very powerful, but relatively easy piece of software to use. As long as you spend time reading the main points of the user manual first, it doesn’t take long to start using the software, which is a really useful—and indispensable tool that you may wonder how you’ve done without all this time.

This is quite a simple review, and there are many aspects of the software that I have yet to use and experiment with. That-said, I know that this software is now on it’s 3rd version, with many amendments made to it by MarketCircle to make this software the best it can be. I know that when I need to use the other varied software options contained in Billings, they will aid me effectively.

Do I recommend this software? Yes. In a nut-shell, it has professional invoicing capabilities, easy-to-use project management and because it’s made for Mac, looks great (especially the red PAID stamp, see image above). I think I’ll be using this software as long as I have a Mac, which will be until the day I stop designing! You can download Billings 3 from MarketCircle on thier site, Billingsapp.com.Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Billings 3 for Mac OS X—Professional Invoicing

Excellent Email Advertisement about Skype

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:26:08 PDT

I’m rarely impressed by email advertising campaigns, but I received such an email recently from mobile network 3. The email was advertising free Skype calls forever—and like many online-dwellers, I use of Skype myself. No, this isn’t some kind of affiliate blog-post…I just really like the design.

I just think [the excellent advert below] is pretty-well structured, meaningful, enticing and above-all, original. I also love to see designs that have a heavy emphasis on typography. I studied for my BA at Coventry University—and the tutors there really drilled typographic knowledge into us…so I suppose that’s one of the reasons why I like this so much.

By the way, if you want to add me to Skype, my user name is andrew-kelsall. What do you think of this email advertisement? Do you think “it works”? Have you been impresed by any other email campaigns?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Excellent Email Advertisement about Skype

Amazing Color Effect 2: Successive Contrast

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 16 May 2009 06:27:51 PDT

Earlier this month, I wrote an article about simultaneous contrast entitled Amazing color effect that all designers should see. This new “illusion” is based on the principle of successive contrast, whereby the absence of a particular color produces a visual perception of its opposite.

As a demonstration of this, please follow these instructions before triggering the “color-illusion” that the image below can produce when looked at properly.

Stare at the white-cross in the center of the Green & Yellow Union Jack Flag for a whole minute. Then, stare into the black-cross of the white image and blink a few times. All-going-well, you should see the Union Jack appear before your eyes—in the correct blue, white and red colors.

Did you see it? I’m not trying to indoctrinate every nation into Britishness here, it’s just that this is a great example of this “illusion” As a designer, such color-displays and illusions really inspire me—and I love to experience both the limitations and wonders of our sight.

Knowing these things can aid every designer at some point. Please tell me if there’s any other illustrations of successive contrast you know of…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Amazing Color Effect 2: Successive Contrast

How Mashable gave me 1200+ Twitter Followers

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:45:19 PDT

As per usual, I logged into my Twitter account the other day (@AndrewKelsall). I was amazed to find that I had nearly 500 new followers—just a night after I last checked. Bemused of this, I tweeted how strange this was, only to discover just after that @cameronolivier already tweeted me in congratulations for making a “Mashable List“.

To be honest, I’d visited Mashable before, but didn’t really use it. Just then, I was been tweeted up to 20 times by other “tweeple” that ‘I had made’ the Mashable List 85+ of the Best Twitterers Designers Should Follow. I was pretty amazed—and there I was, 2nd form the top of the list (right under @abduzeedo). This wasn’t because I was more “tweetier” (if that’s even a word) than anyone else, it’s just that the list was in alphabetical order.

Cameron River, who was also featured, tweeted me that he didn’t receive as many followers that I received, so having a name beginning with the letter “A” certainly helped. A few days later, Mashable have sent my way 1200+ Twitter Followers. I feel very honored to be part of this list—and I don’t really think I should have been there. But, things as they are, it’s was a great experience to be recognized!

Have you had a plug from Mashable before? Have you had any large influx of Twitter users follow your updates?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How Mashable gave me 1200+ Twitter Followers

My Bag Contents Featured on Design O’Blog

Andrew Kelsall — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:02:08 PDT

Today, a photo of the contents of my bag (well, rucksack) appeared on Niki Brown’s Design O’Blog, in an article entitled “It’s All In The (Designer’s) Bag Part 2“. The beginning of the article reads:

This is the second edition its all in the (designer’s) bag! Check out the original post over here –> Graphic Designer’s Bags Part 1.

Now, we all know that designers are cool. They generally dress well, and have a good sense of style. I’ve also noticed that they tend to have cool bags – but what is inside of those bags? I know you are dying to know!! I asked several designers to snag a pic of what they carry around with them on a daily basis.

I was originally contacted by Niki and asked if I wanted to take part in this amusing exercise to take a peek into designer’s bags. My photo (shown below) shows what I generally carry around when I’m out and about (with the actual numbered descriptions in the actual Design O’Blog article):

I recommend this post, it’s a great read—and includes the innards of the bags of fellow designers, Chris Spooner, Franz Jeitz and Jon Phillips, to name but a few. If you haven’t already done so, why don’t you check it out on Design O’Blog—it’s a fascinating read Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

My Bag Contents Featured on Design O’Blog

Amazing color effect that all designers should see…

Andrew Kelsall — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:15:00 PDT

Displayed below is an amazing color effect that all designers should see. If you take a look at the X’s, they both look as though they are different colors. However, they’re not. The colors are exactly the same tone:

Look at where both the X’s intersect at the middle-base of the image. You can see there that the ‘true color’ is in fact a greyish-yellow tone (a mixture of the two colors used in the rectangles). This effect is based on a painting by Josef Albers.

To see something a little weirder, take a look at the second image I have devised, taking the effect one step further:

As can be seen, the horizontal bar appears to show a gradient, starting with yellow on the left, to grey on the right. However, as with the first image, the color is a solid tone—not a gradient of two colors at all. If you don’t believe me, drag the images into PhotoShop® and whip out the color-picker tool

Why is this happening?

This effect is know as trichromacy, with the images above demonstrating simultaneous contrast. To cut a long story short, out eyes record color in RGB—but none of us can image a yellowish-blue. Our brains therefor plays tricks on us, resulting in the effect/illusion.

I think knowing this kind of information about color can be extremely beneficial to a designer. Color theory is embedded in all we do, so it’s great to understand great effects like this to aid in design work. Knowing what colors will or will not work together can be imperative—especially in logo design.

I have written an article about metamerism with another color-illusion there if this subject interests you. Do you know of any other great effect like this? Do you think knowlege of color theory will aid in your design work?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Amazing color effect that all designers should see…

Twitt-Bits: Logos, Illustrator and a Couch

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:21:44 PDT

Welcome to another Twitt-Bits. If you would like to know more about these posts, please read the introductory article on them. Now, to the links…

Tweet by @designshard

Watching @colorburned Interview With David and Marc Perel of From the Couch http://tinyurl.com/dn385f

The link is to a great video from Colorburned entitled “Interview With David and Marc Perel of From the Couch“.

Tweet by @chrisspooner

125+ Ultimate Round-Up of Illustrator Tutorials – http://is.gd/nW4z

This link is to a great resource entitled “125+ Ultimate Round-Up of Illustrator Tutorials” via InstantShift.

Tweet by @pixel_jockey

Inspiration Show me some well designed logos! #23 (more clever logo work) http://twurl.nl/fi8c1m

The logo work refered to is from the site Design Your Way—and features some really thoughtful logos. Worth a look…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Twitt-Bits: Logos, Illustrator and a Couch

What are Color Gamuts? Part One

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:55:04 PDT

What are Color Gamuts? Simply put, a color gamut is a whole range of digital colors that are included in a color profile. Different gamuts contain varied subsets of different colors.

Now, this is a huge subject to cover, so instead of just trying to explain what they are, I will start by comparing two similar gamuts from two RGB profiles: Adobe RGB (1998) and sRGB IEC61966-2.1

Adobe RGB (1998)

Displayed below is a 2D image of the Adobe RGB (1998) color profile. This is the type of image you’re going to see a lot of throughout this set of articles. Ignore the LAB color letters (b+, a+, etc) and observe the color and shape. Notice how all the colors shown radiate from white, denoting the additive color model.

The next image (below) displays the same RGB gamut but in 3D. This is one of countless views that can be viewed with special software, such as PerfX Gamut Viewer or ColorThink Pro. As can be seen, the 3D view reveals more tones, hues and shades than the 2D version.

Each color gamut shown is complete with a colored-boundary, which indicates the extreme edge of the gamut in both 3D and 2D angles. This one, for example, shows this edge in Red.

Comparing Color Gamuts

Now we know what we’re looking at, I’ll start comparing the two color gamuts. The larger gamut is a representation of the Adobe RGB (1998) color profile, shown in RED. The smaller profile, sRGB IEC61966-2.1, is displayed in BLUE (just visible).

The next three images show varied angles of the two color gamuts…

Both gamuts displayed are visible at a medium opacity, so you can see both at once.

Notice that even though the Adobe RGB profile is generally larger, RGB 2.1 supercedes it in certain key areas of color…

These areas are primarily in the green/blue region of the gamut, shown above.

There you have it—the introduction to the series of articles about color gamuts. It would be very hard to cover many aspects of the subject matter in one post, so Part Two will continue the journey shortly. Why not subscribe to my RSS feed so you don’t miss it?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

What are Color Gamuts? Part One

Introducing Twitt-Bits Mini-posts on AK

Andrew Kelsall — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:16:19 PDT

I’m a very busy person―that’s the way I like it. I don’t always have loads of time to write in-depth articles, but I do try. Recently, I’ve been spending “spare” time on social networking site, Twitter. It’s great to re-tweet links and socialize―however, I had a profound idea to include really interesting stuff on this site.

Like the image above states, I calling these mini-posts “Twitt-Bits“. I reckon it’s a catchy name―so I chose the image to suit. Hope you like it

“So what’s the real purpose behind it all” you may ask. Well, not only will I be able to update my blog more often, it will allow me to share articles with you, my readers, in an unusual way. When I post a great link(s), I’ll also link to the original tweeters profile.

I was going to do the next part on the next Twitt-Bits, but here we go…the first “bit”…

Tweet by @HawaiiRealty

Reprise….;> You know you are TOO into Twitter when: http://tinyurl.com/5lycwc

The article linked is entitled “You know you are too popular on Twitter when…” from the Sarah Jones Larson Blog, which lists a staggering 65 reasons why. It’s quite a funny read!

By the way, you can follow me on Twitter @AndrewKelsall; you can read the post about when I joined Twitter for more information.Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Introducing Twitt-Bits Mini-posts on AK

What are Color Profiles?

Andrew Kelsall — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:05:43 PDT

Image Copyright here

The question “What are Color Profiles?” is one asked by every designer in their early career or studies. The thing is, this is such a generic question, it really needs breaking down into three other questions. I will attempt to answer them below, but be aware that this is just a summary. Indeed, whole books are available on the subject of color profiles, so there’s an awful lot of information to condense into this post…

Every image or file that is created in programs like Adobe Photoshop®, Illustrator® and InDesign® needs a color profile assigned or embedded in order for the software to display and print the image accurately. If no profile is assigned, or a ‘generic profile’ is used, results can be very unpredictable.

To clarify, here is a brief overview of the questions that relate to the use of color profiles:

What are Device Profiles?

Basically, device profiles contain certain information pertaining to three variables regarding how a certain device (such as a digital camera) ‘represents’ color. These variables are Color Gamut (color & brightness), Dynamic Range (relates to the white point) and finally, the Tone Reproduction of colors.

For example, a device profile would be included in the software of a digital camera, scanner or desktop printer.

What are Profile Classes?

Profile Classes relate to the types of Device Profiles available:

★ INPUT PROFILES, which describe the ways in which Digital Cameras and Desktop Scanners capture color.

★ DISPLAY PROFILES, which describe the ways LCD displays display colors.

★ OUTPUT PROFILES, which describe color for printers and presses.

What are Document Profiles?

Document Profiles are ‘destination profiles’ that are assigned to a file after a conversion from a Device Profile (or source profile). For example, ProPhoto RGB Color Profile from Digital Camera (source) > Photoshop® File with Adobe RGB (1998) Profile (destination).

I realize that there is much information to cover on the subject, so this is just one of a series of articles about the subject of Color Profiles, Gamuts and Color Spaces. Why not Subscribe to my RSS Feed so you don’t miss the next article?

Next up is a more visually interesting post about Color Gamuts. If you have any questions about this article, please feel free to leave your thoughts below…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

What are Color Profiles?

The Andrew Kelsall Logo Design Showcased…

Andrew Kelsall — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:59:22 PDT

Recently, my logo design has featured on a couple of design blogs, I’m Just Creative by Graham Smith & Dache, by Logo Designer David Pache.

Firstly, I felt quite honored when David Pache contacted me a few weeks ago―and asked if he could have the Black & White version of my new logo for his new article 100 brands of interest Part 2. A quote from the article reads:

This article is the sequel to 100 brands of interest, published on the dacheboard on December 4, 2008. After the last article and the feedback received, it was clear that another article of this nature was in order so, here it is! Over the past few months, I have been compiling another 100 brands of interest and have been very lucky to have such a selection to choose from. The standard really is very high.

My “AK” Andrew Kelsall logo featured amongst another 99 great logo’s that are all showcased in B+W. It’s a great read, and I recommend that you check it out at some point.

Secondly, I submitted the more illustrated “ribbon” version of my logo design to Graham Smiths Logo Design Roundup Part 5 article. A quote from the article reads:

This is the fourth part in a series showcasing a collection of logos and brand marks, self submitted by a bunch of designers and creative folk in many creative areas. These designers use the logos to sell, promote, brand and market their various skills.

I has been great to get my new logo design ‘out there’ beside from my own site, and this article gave me a chance to explain why I chose to design it in this way. I would recommend that you check this post out as well, as there are some great insights about other designer’s brands too.Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

The Andrew Kelsall Logo Design Showcased…

Pure Christian Graphic Design Launches!

Andrew Kelsall — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:20:47 PDT

Image source/copyright here

Pure Christian Graphic Design (or PCGD for short) has been a side-project of mine now for a few months. Having a wife and two kids and all, I have very little time to pursue my ambitions. However, bit-by-bit I always seem to get there in the end with determination…and coffee.

A few years back, I started a web site that was a cross between a Christian design service and a ’secular’ design service. It didn’t work out, but I learned much from the experience and moved on. I then tried to run a ‘generic design service’ based on moral principles, but again, I didn’t feel this was working for me. Whilst I support and commend designers such as Kyle Steed and Doug Cloud―who inject their Christian thoughts and experiences into their blog format, I feel this isn’t the direction for myself.

I want AndrewKelsall.com to be a place where I can discuss graphic and creative issues, delving into technicalities and discussion. I don’t believe this blog is the place where I should suddenly write about the difference between 200gsm and 400gsm paper stock then state “I’m a Christian!”

So, I decided a few month back to separate general design issues and Christian-design issues into two separate blogs. I have done this for another reason also. On my Pure Christian Graphic Design blog, I not only want to talk on Christian design, but also discuss non-design subject matter in general―and the AK blog isn’t the place to do this.

If you think you may be interested in articles about Christian design issues and living, you are welcome to visit. I’ve got some elements on the design to tweak, but overall, it’s 95% complete. You will notice I have used a very similar design for the blog. I have done this so both my blogs look coherent and unified, as I have typed the strap-line “Authored by Creative Design Andrew Kelsall” along the banner with my logo.

I plan to write about one article per week to get started―about the same as this blog. I hope it works out well…and I’m looking forward to my new venture. If you have any thoughts on my plans, please leave them in the comments section below…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Pure Christian Graphic Design Launches!

Never mind .eu .me or .whatever, give me .tel!

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:15:47 PDT

I have heard a fair bit about the .tel “revolution” of late. So much so, that I bought andrewkelsall.tel before some cyber-squatter or other Andrew Kelsall decided to buy it.

I’m not too concerned about anyone buying the .eu, .me or .whatever version of my domain name (I have the .co.uk, though), but .tel’s are meant to be the next big thing, so I though I’d cover my bases and buy this one. I first heard about them in the tabloid press, so I looked into it and supposedly, .tel domains are meant to be some world-wide telephone directory.

The whole point of them is, as I have gathered, you simply update your contact information so that if you give someone your .tel address ― they can always contact you by looking up your details. What you want kept private or public is up to you, the account holder.

Basically, I have only just set mine up with limited details to see what it’s all about. You can check it out at andrewkelsall.tel and look at the simple purple interface that everyone else on .tel has to give a unified image.

To find out more on .tel domains, you can visit Telnic, the organization behind them.

Have you got yourself a .tel address? Do you think this world-wide directory will take off? Do you think it’s just a waste of time?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Never mind .eu .me or .whatever, give me .tel!

What are the Benefits of Designing in RGB for CMYK Print?

Andrew Kelsall — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:41:32 PDT

I recently had a great discussion about the use an RGB color setup when designing for CMYK print. I received various responses within my article Top Ten CD Cover Design Tips, whereby the talented designer’s Alex Charchar, LaurenMarie and Rob Cubbon joined the conversation.

I generally support the notion of designing in an RGB color mode ― for print and web regarding imagery that is to be printed in CMYK. Some of you reading this may know what I’m talking about and agree wholehartedly, yet I suspect that some of you would ask yourself:

Why would I ever design in RGB for printed material that will be printed in CMYK ― or even CMYKOG (Hexachrome®)?

Moreover, some may have heard about initially designing in RGB for print before, tried it ― and never did it again ― offering a statement such as this:

I tried designing in RGB ― but all the colors just turned out muddy when I converted it. That’s the last time I’m trying that again…

A valid point. But to prove my case, I will start at the beginning and explain why, in the majority of cases, I design in RGB in the initial design stages of print work. Of coarse I send my files off to the printers in CMYK, but this article is about how the initial file setup in an RGB color profile can benefit designers.

You may ponder as to why anyone would design in RGB, when the final output is in CMYK. This is like saying:

Why should I mix the ingredients to make fresh cake, when I can go to the shops and buy one ready-made?

Well, the answer to this is quality. If you design in RGB, you have a larger color gamut to work with, as well as many additional benefits:

Benefits of Designing in RGB

★ RGB File Sizes are about 25% smaller than CMYK

★ Many filters and functions are only available to use in an RGB color mode in PhotoShop® and similar programs.

★ The RGB color gamut is larger than CMYK

★ Working in RGB means that your images are web-ready with no color conversion (as opposed to designing for print in CMYK and converting the color to RGB for web-use).

To place the above list in a workable context, here is a simulation of how using RGB to design your printed material would have been more beneficial than CMYK (based on one of my previous comments in the aforementioned CD article):

…I setup my files as CMYK with a FOGRA 27 color profile. After spending hours designing an 8-page CD Gatefold design, the client supplies me with some more photo files to be used. As they originated from a digital camera, they are in RGB. I place them in layers in Photoshop® and get to work. An hour later, I want to use certain filters on these layers — but I can’t, as many functions and filters are only available in RGB mode in PhotoShop®.

…After spending much work-around time editing these photos in separate RGB files and importing them back in, I transfer my PSD file onto my MacBook as I’m working on the move. As CMYK files are approximately 25% larger than RGB ones, my laptop starts to slow down, causing loss of productivity to myself.

…My client also informs me that this CD cover is to be used in an interactive digital booklet and used online in iTunes, etc. As the CMYK SWOP gamut is vastly smaller than the “additive” RGB gamut, some color info will be lost on conversion to the “subtractive” CMYK one.

…Further down the line, I may also want to include images from my own scanner — again, from source RGB.

In conclusion, it’s always easier to work in RGB. Some colors may be lost when converting to CMYK, but that is what the “Preview in CMYK” option is for in PhotoShop®, so you can keep track of desasterous results from any conversions.

Are you convinced of the reasoning behind these benefits? Next, I’ll take a look at the CMYK color mode:

Benefits of Designing in CMYK

★ When designing in RGB, there will have to be a conversion to CMYK at a calculated time near the completion of an image. Sometimes, the color of the image can change appearance due to this conversion. If you work directly in CMYK, there will be no such conversion ― and therefor, no color loss.

★ er…

★ and….

Ok. That’s it. The only benefit (in most situations/generally) of working in CMYK is the color control ― but a league of restraints counteracts this benefit.

This is not the end of the subject

I realize that this post is becoming rather long, so soon I will be writing some more articles that will accompany this one. The subjects of color gamuts and color profiles are top of my list.

In the forthcoming article about color gamuts, I shall be addressing the issue of why colors can appear ‘muddy’ after an RGB-to-CMYK conversion.

Why not Subscribe to my RSS Feed so you don’t miss a thing?

If you have any questions about this article, please leave your comment below. I know some of the termanology I have used may be unknown to some, so just ask-away ― I’m always glad to help out…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

What are the Benefits of Designing in RGB for CMYK Print?

Three Great Logos I saw in London

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 06:28:28 PDT

Not so hot-off-the-heels of one of my previous articles, Three Great Logos I saw on the Motorway, here are three great logos I noticed when I visited London recently with Mrs K and a couple of friends.

I thought it was about time I visited the Capital. I live 280 miles away, but I had previously only travelled through the great City. Ironically though, I had visited Washington DC and New York on several occasions, but never the City on my door-step. I had a great time―and managed to see the last UK show of Buddy, the Buddy Holly story―which was fantastic.

Here’s a self-taken photo of me on the London Eye. I have about 20 layers of clothes on, but it was February and very cold, but quite sunny too!

Okay―enough news of my exploits, here are three great logo designs I saw whilst walking through the streets of London. Before my visit, I had never set eyes on any of the logos below, so my descriptions are my very first impressions:

Blacks logo

I saw this on a shop sign whilst strolling along near London Bridge. I don’t think that it’s a great logo because of its form or color, but I liked it because I knew what the shop sold even before I looked through the window. If I wanted a new pair of hiking boots to aid my 18-hour trawl around the sights of London, this would be a great place to start looking. Logos are all about communication―and the ‘Blacks’ design did its job well.

Eat. The Real Food Company

I first saw this logo from afar―and needless to say, I knew exactly what to expect when I reached one of their eateries. Great, contemporary, simple design and in-your-face brilliant. What’s so great about the ‘Eat.’ name, is the whole branding structure that is maintained on all the packaging for their various soups and sandwiches.

Geox Logo

I saw this logo on a shop sign and I admired it because of the treatment of the typography used―especially the ‘x’. Admitantly, I didn’t know what the shop sold, although I suspected it was a clothing store…and it was. But all-credit to the designer of the Geox logotype, as it looked great―and gained my attention.

I featured the following list of related articles in my Three Great Logos I saw on the Motorway post, but they are still relevant to this latest article, so here they are again―and worth a read…

A Binary life: A day in brands

Designers Who Blog: Branding before Breakfast

PhilsBlogging: Where we encounter brands

Aaron Russell: 13 Logos without moving a Muscle

Rob: Brand Timeline Portrait

Mike Vogel: Brand Timeline Portrait

The Happy Corp: What Time is your Brand

Rafie: 10 Logos as you open my door

Dehog: My day in brands and logos

The Marketing Student: Day in a life of Gen Y

LogoDesignLove: 33 logos in 33 Minutes

Brand Awareness: 14 Logos in 14 Minutes

Vivian: Brainwashed in 8 minutesSimilar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Three Great Logos I saw in London

Uprinting Business Card Competition Winners!

Andrew Kelsall — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:29:21 PDT

On the 28th February, I ran a competition for you to win one of two prizes courtesy of the great folks at Uprinting.com. There were some great comments, some very weird ones…and some rather bad ones―however, the whole point of the competition was to leave a comment that was creative:

How to Enter to competition:

1. Leave a comment at the end of this article, describing what you would use the free business cards and/or canvas print for.

2. IMPORTANT: To make things more interesting, you must include THIS WORD below in your comment to be eligible to win: Dinosaur

After much deliberation, here are the winners:

Gold > Josh: 1000 Business Cards Winner

Well, obviously I would use them to construct a hat and earmuffs for my dinosaur.. It’s winter you know.

Silver > Elizabeth Cooper: 18×24 canvas print winner

Have you ever wondered why there are old dinosaur bones in museums?

I have, and I decided it’s for the same reason I haven’t had new business cards in a while — because new ones are too expensive!

Shonika, I thought your comment was thoughtful, so although you’re not a winner, here’s a link to your site: Teen Entrepreneur Blog to say thank-you!

I appreciate the longer comments that some of you left, but it was the two comments above that captured the creative concept in a more memorable way. Josh’s comment, in particular, made me smile when I read it.

So, well done Josh and Elizabeth, I will email you both with the details on claiming your prizes.

I’ll probably be running more competitions in the future, so why not Subscribe to my RSS Feed so you don’t miss them?
Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Uprinting Business Card Competition Winners!

Loving the Creative Community on SpoonFed Design

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:19:27 PST

I was recently asked the question “Why Do We Love the Creative Community?” by Matt―a freelance graphic/web designer and developer from the US, who authors the very popular blog SpoonFed Design.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the twenty bloggers who featured in an article about the subject. My answer started:

I think that the online design community is vital because 99% of these valuable people are social, helpful and above all, selfless. There has been a number of occasions when I’ve needed some advise or help on a creative or technical issue-and there has always been someone, on Twitter for example, who is willing to help…

To read the rest of my comment―and the other wonderful nineteen answers by bloggers , head over to SpoonFed Design for the article Why Do We Love the Creative Community? [SEPT 09 UPDATE, LINK IS NO LONGER VALID, SF BLOG UPDATING PERMALINKS] I felt quite honoured to be asked to take part in the post―and I’d like to thank Matt for featuring me in this great resource.

For reference, here are the other nineteen bloggers who gave insightful answers:

Chris Spooner – Spoon Graphics
David Leggett – Tutorial9
Andy Sowards – AndySowards.com
David Perel – From the Couch
Andrew Houle – MyInkBlog
Kyle Steed – KyleSteed.com
Chad Mueller – Inspiredology
Aaron Irizarry – This Is Aarons Life
Calvin Lee – Mayhem Studios
Liam McKay – Function
Tom Ross – PSDFAN
Dainis Graveris – 1stwebdesigner
Niki Brown – Design O’ Blog
Aran Down – STUDIO7DESIGNS
Walter Apai – Webdesigner Depot
David Appleyard – Design Shack
Franz Jeitz – Fudge Graphics
Jacob Cass – JustCreativeDesign
Max Stanworth – Design Shard
Chris Coyier – CSS-Tricks
Selene M. Bowlby – iDesign Studios
James White – Signalnoise
Sabine Reinhart – Patterrific
Jon Phillips – Spyre Studios
Andrew Taylor – Additive Designs
Brian Lovin – Elite By Design
Tim Mercer – digital-artist-toolboxSimilar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Loving the Creative Community on SpoonFed Design

Win 1000 Free Business Cards or Canvas Print with a Creative Comment

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:11:36 PST

Here’s a great competition to brighten your day―a chance to win two prizes from Uprinting.com, an online printing company committed to providing a high quality printing experience at affordable prices.

Apart from business cards and canvas prints, Uprinting can print a wide range of material, from calendars to wall stickers.

How to Enter to competition:

1. Leave a comment at the end of this article, describing what you would use the free business cards and/or canvas print for.

2. IMPORTANT: To make things more interesting, you must include THIS WORD below in your comment to be eligible to win:

Dinosaur

3. The Most Creative Answer including the word “dinosaur” will win. I will choose the winner based on creativity―not a random selection. I chose this word, as I had just taken my kids out to a Dinosaur exhibition, so it seemed fitting.

Prizes

1000 free standard size business cards for one reader and 1 free 18×24 canvas print for one reader

You can choose from any of Uprinting.com stocks for these items.

The Rules

Winners in the United States and Canada qualify for free shipping. Shipping fees will apply to winners outside these areas.

Closing date is the 10th March 09, 24:00 GMT.

Note: YOU DO NOT need a lengthy comment to be eligible to win, just a quality one

Now, why not be creative to win a fantastic prize?…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Win 1000 Free Business Cards or Canvas Print with a Creative Comment

I am #525915, what are you?

Andrew Kelsall — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:40:55 PST

Recently, I was asked by Franz Jeitz of Fudge Graphics to partake in a social experiment entitled What’s Your Favourite Colour? Franz was collecting this information to present the variety of colours that designers chose in a chart/table. I chose my colour based on a variety of factors:

My favourite colour around my desk is a neutral tone, so my eyes won’t adjust to a alternate white point when designing. My favourite colour used in design when expressing optimism might be orange or yellow. However, design aside, I feel that very earthy-green or brown colours would probably be the most meaningful colours in my life, as they are the colours I like to wear.

Throughout the past few years, I have normally worn these shades of colour in hooded tops, combat trousers and coats. I suppose these colours are what I am comfortable with―and therefor, capable of designing in, so to speak. After reviewing some tones in Photoshop®, I selected a colour that fits well with my personal and professional persona―a mossy-green colour… #525915

If you haven’t seen the article already, why not head over there and take a look―there’s some interesting results.Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

I am #525915, what are you?

Andrew Kelsall bought a MoleSkine® Notebook

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:45:47 PST

Every-so-often, I read either a blog article or comments section where a designer has mentioned how great the Moleskine® collection of notebooks and diaries are. The last time I read about one was in an article about journal designs by designer, Kyle Steed. I’m not one to follow the sheep, but on this occasion I thought I’d buy one and see what all the fuss is about.

After ordering my Moleskine® Squared Notebook, I received it after about 3 days (shown below). I must admit, I wasn’t overwhelmed by it at first-glance…after all, it was just a notebook.

I looked inside to reveal 240 double-sided square-printed-pages. At this point, I did start to see the quality of the acid-free paper it was made from (image below).

The notebook isn’t a diary, although there is quite an extensive range of these notebooks available to cater for various tastes and uses. Overall, the design is I think is rather classy―and very functional. It has an elegant elastic band that keeps the whole thing together when closed, and has a page-separating tassel.

Why did I buy it? Well, when I’m out and about measuring-up large-format prints, etc, it sounds like a better prospect than having a stack of loose pieces of paper…which is usually the case. I also plan to carry it with me anywhere I go, so if I have a logo, poster or other design-related idea, I can jot it down and keep my musings in one place.

Have you ever had a Moleskine®? If so, which one did you buy―and did it aid your designs and idea development in any way?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Andrew Kelsall bought a MoleSkine® Notebook

How NOT to lock your bike in New York City

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:54:48 PST

As a little light-hearted break from a couple of longer, serious articles, I thought I’d share one of my favourite photos with you.

The last time I visited New York City in for a few-days break from the UK, I saw this bike “locked up” on some random street. I took a photo of it, thinking that one day it may come in useful within a piece of design work. I just couldn’t stop laughing…why use the beefiest of chains to lock a dilapidated bike to a short post―where the bike can simply be carried away?

The mind muses.Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How NOT to lock your bike in New York City

The Professional Designer’s Guide to using Black

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:41:49 PST

Base Image: Dreamstime

Thomas Jefferson famously coined the phrase “All men are created equal”―and how right he was. Well, any professional designer will tell you that this is not the case regarding the color black in the printing process (if you would like to research whether or not black is strictly ‘a color’, I suggest you read this article).

The aim of this article is to document every conceivable type of black that is destined for print and web. It is my aim that if you are a designer, you can find some information here that you didn’t know―and if you are learning about design, I hope you can educate yourself from this post.

There are 3 Parts in the article:

One: The Different Blacks
Two: Using Black
Three: Misuse of Black

Note: Some of the examples I have used in the article are not accurate color-representations, as the images refer to CMYK color-tones for print. Some colors are exaggerated to clearly show what kind of tint certain blacks pertain, and are only present to indicate color variations, not perfect representation.

Part One: The Different Blacks

RGB Black | R/0 G/0 B/0 : This black represents zero RGB light―and therefor ‘black’. For more information on the properties of the RGB additive color model, visit this WikiPedia Article.

When to use: For all on-screen, web and online PDF use. Variations are sometimes used (for example R/5 G/5 B/5), but differing end-user screens makes this practice futile unless a major shift of color is required; and therefor, the color black would be subjective.

PhotoShop® Black | C86 M85 Y79 K100 : This type of black is roughly comprised by the preceding color combination, but can vary slightly between document profiles and PS version number (some versions produce black at around (90%).

When to use: This is the default PhotoShop® Black. The total ink coverage exceeds the TIC limit of 260-320% (depending on paper stock and printing process), although the total ink coverage can be automatically amended with GCR (Grey Component Replacement) and UCR (Under Color Removal) at the printers.

Neutral Rich Black (also known as Rich Black) | C40 M30 Y30 K100 : This type of black is roughly comprised by the preceding color combination, but varies between designers’ personal preference.

When to use: There are plenty of variants in this color mix. This is a very general, rich black that doesn’t exceed a 200% TAC (Total Ink Coverage) limit.

Registration Black | C100 M100 Y100 K100 : This mix is comprised of the maximum amount of cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

When to use: Generally, this color is only to be used for registration marks on documents to be sent to the printers. The only exception to this is if a file containing registration black is to be digitally printed (at home or professionally) as toner is used, not wet-ink.

Flat Black | C0 M0 Y0 K100 : This black is just made up of 100% of the black channel, with no other ink in the mix. Also known as Standard black.

When to use: Looking very ‘washed-out’, this black is best used just for small text in magazines and books, and in particular, newsprint where TAC limits are are set to very low tolerance’s.

Designer Black | C70 M50 Y30 K100 : This black is just made up to a TAC equating to 250%

When to use: Probably the most commonly type of black used. Many designers have their favorite mix―and for different papers and printers. This is a very general, rich and punchy black that will suit almost any application.

Pantone® Process Black | Spot-Color/’K100′ : This black is available as Pantone® Process Black C (coated), U, (Uncoated) and M (Matt).

When to use: Being one of the ‘four CMYK colors‘, this black is ideally suited to printing text, whereby correct registration is not an issue.

Cool Black (also known as Black Bump) | C50 M0 Y0 K100 : This is the general-mix, but this black can also be comprised [typically] of between 20%-80% cyan.

When to use: Normally, this type of black is used when a very cold-feeling shine/glaze is required. For example, it would be appropriate on posters containing large areas of black, whereby the purpose is to advise elderly people on an impending flu-epidemic. The bluish-tone would add an almost-subliminal dimension to the design.

Golden Black | C0 M0 Y60 K100 : This is the general-mix, but this black can also be comprised [typically] of between 20%-80% yellow.

When to use: Normally, this type of black can be used when a very warm/earthy feeling shine/glaze is required in a design. For example, this could be used on a ‘Global Warming’ advertisement, etc.

Warm Black | C0 M60 Y0 K100 : This is the general-mix, but this black can also be comprised [typically] of between 20%-80% magenta.

When to use: This type of color would be great if used on a brochure for a jewelery company, etc.

Pantone® Black | Spot-Color : This black is available as Pantone® Black C (coated), U, (Uncoated) and M (Matt).

When to use: Ideally, this is used for example, on business cards and letterheads, whereby only a certain amount of spot colors are used instead of the expense of CMYK. Another great use is in Duo-tone images.

Pantone® Hexachrome® Black | Part of the CMYKOG process range (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, orange & green), : This black is available as Pantone® Black C (coated), U, (Uncoated) and M (Matt).

When to use: It would be pretty pointless using this black on its own, as it has been developed to be used within the Hexachrome® color range (a set of six colors that produce vivid, bright prints).

Pantone® Black 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 (range) | Spot-Colors : These blacks are available as Pantone® Black C (coated), U, (Uncoated) and M (Matt).

When to use: This range of blacks really start to depart from the standard perception of a ’standard black’. The color-tints in the range are quite prominent, mimicking in many ways cool, rich and ruby black, etc, but in a single spot-color. Use instead of a similar CMKY black to save money or printing costs.

Metal FX® Black | [Specialty] Spot-Color : This black is part of a set of metallic-colors that are special color inks printed onto a pre-printed metallic base.

When to use: If you want a very eye-catching design―and have a larger printing budget (printing costs are often about +40% of typical CMYK), the Metal FX® printing process may be a great option, but complicated file setups are required―and printers offering this option are few and far between.

Trumatch® Black | Based on the CMYK color-space. Available in Coated and Uncoated swatchbooks.

When to use: If you want more accurate matching of spot colors when converting to CMYK, Trumatch® may be more appropriate than Pantone® colors. However, in the case of just utilizing black, there is little valid reason to use beyond a consistent color work-flow. Read this article for more information.

Toyo® Black | Very similar to Pantone® Black (and the whole Toyo® color system).

When to use: This color matching system is mainly popular in Japan, so you may use it if you design in this country―or maybe if you are designing material that is to be printed there.

Dainippon®: Ink & Chemical (DIC) [Black] | Just like Pantone®, the DIC colors are a spot-based matching system.

When to use: This color matching system and inks are used for use on packaging, coatings, plastics and synthetic resins and related products, amongst other specialized uses.

ANPA® Ink [Black] | Color matching system based on the LAB color space. These inks were originally made from soybean oil.

When to use: This color black is to be used on newsprint. For more information, visit the Newspaper Association of America website.

HKS® Ink [Black] (88 Z) | Spot-Color : Just like Pantone®, the HKS® colors are a spot-based matching system.

When to use: This color model is used in Europe and Germany, with the inks being used for design on certain plastics for industrial printing processes.

Focaltone® Black (1073) | Spot-Color : Like Trumatch®, this is a color model that is based on the CMYK color space.

When to use: The Focaltone® system can be used for computer system color calibration, whereby Focaltone® black, for example, would be made up a CMYK tints. For more information, visit the FocalTone site.

Note: To save this post becoming repetitive on certain information, I have excluded some libraries available, such as Pantone® Pastel & Solid Colors and Visibone.

Part Two: Using Black

Printing Pantone® Black (or any other Spot-Black) Twice | Spot-Color : The printing of any given spot color twice over (also known as ‘hitting it twice’).

When to use: If for example, a special paper is to be used for a business card design, a designer may specify a Pantone® Black to be used on 2 separate printing plates. The end result is a super rich black normally only achieved utilizing CMYK―but at a lower cost.

Image Copyright: Surface Media

UV Spot Varnish / High-Build UV SV | This varnish is applied to certain areas of the design, highlighting and drawing attention to selected areas. Other similar coatings include Matt Varnish, Crystal Protective Coatings, Gloss and Matt Laminates and StopLight Coatings. There is a more comprehensive list of finishes at Gemini Press.

When to use: If you have a certain desired effect you want to achieve, like when used on the black-styled design above, this varnish can look professional and classy. It costs extra, of coarse, but if it’s used just with black, for example, it may cost less than CMYK depending on the printers used.

Note: There are other finishes available can be applied to black, such as Embossing, Debossing and Foil-blocking, but wring of these methods would stray from the context of this article.

‘Knock-out Black’ | C40 M40 Y40 K100 : A process whereby text or forms are knocked-out of the black channel (and therefor, printing plate), but the cyan, magenta and yellow channels are either solid or filled to a certain extent (for example, gradients applied).

When to use: This technique is great for subtle printing effects, where special spot varnishes are either not available or not in the printing budget. For example, I once used thus technique on a CD Cover, where I knocked-out the band’s logo on the tray-card reverse.

The image above shows how the four CMYK channels look. As can be seen, the letters are subtracted from all but the black channel, so the word appears ‘less-black’ than the surrounding black, and therefor legible.

This technique has endless possibilities. For example, the surrounding black could be made as a Flat Black, with the text in Rich-Black. Shapes, forms and images can also be tailored to this technique, as well as the use of different spot-colors and metallic inks.

Part Three: Misuse of Black

Base Image: Dreamstime

Black Border Misuse: Yeah, maybe she’s looks shocked because of that drab-’flat’ border―a common mistake made when using photography in vector-based files (Adobe Illustrator and InDesign, etc) is not matching black borders to the black contained in the files. For example (taken from above), the CMYK makeup of number 1 maybe a Neutral Rich Black, but the border (2) may be a Flat Black. This, of coarse, may be desired in some situations, but for the most part it is a printing mistake.

Advise: T0 make sure this doesn’t happen, use the eyedropper tool in your chosen Adobe application to measure the CMYK values of the outer-photo black and match the border accordingly.

Base Image: Dreamstime

Overprint Misuse: I would always recommend overprinting black, especially where a black-filled-vector shape is on top of a vivid image. I have found that oranges and greens are particularly prone showing through flat blacks, so don’t ever overprint flat black onto an image unless you want to image to show through.

Advise: When overprinting black onto such an image (well, any image), always use a black, such as designer black, whereby all four CMYK colors are used. Exactly how much of the percentage of these colors you use is dependent on what stock your design is to be printed on.

Small Black Logo/Text Misuse: You wouldn’t believe the amount of ‘professionally-designed’ CD Covers I’ve seen over the years that are inclusive of small black logos that are made up of a rich CMYK black. If you take a look at the logo I have created above, you can see which one is clear and clean cut. There no trying to convince you otherwise. Just imagine if my “AK Doesn’t Make Mistakes“ [spoof] logo was a maximum 8mm in height? You can see why this is an issue of legibility. This is also true of small black text, etc.

Advise: Always check that small black logos only appear on the black channel by proofing your work. Set black to overprint, unless it lies on a dark background…but this may make the logo or text illegible anyway, so use common sense.

Thanks for taking time to read this article. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. If you use a particular mix of black, why?―And what percentages and stock have you used? Can you recommend anything I haven’t mentioned?

10 Excellent Fractal Images for Inspiration

Andrew Kelsall — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:24:47 PST

I’ve always admired fractal-images and art from the moment I first saw them. In a nut-shell, fractals are forms made out of mathematical formula; a better explanation is offered in the following quote:

A fractal is generally “a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole,” a property called self-similarity. The term was coined by Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975 and was derived from the Latin fractus meaning “broken” or “fractured.” A mathematical fractal is based on an equation that undergoes iteration, a form of feedback based on recursion. [Quote taken from Wikipedia]

The following 10 fractal images only show a glimpse of what can be achieved using fractals. Be they blue, green, orange or multicolored, these digital fractal-art images can truly inspire…

Image Copyright: lrargerich

Image Source: Dreamstime

Image Copyright: Draves

Image Copyright: Santarosa

Image Copyright: Motiv Designs

Image Copyright: Visulogik

Image Copyright: Santarosa

Image Source: Dreamstime

Image Copyright: fdecomite

Image Copyright: Digon3
Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

10 Excellent Fractal Images for Inspiration

Top Ten CD Cover Design Tips

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:12:38 PST

Image Copyright here

Here are my Top Ten CD Cover Design Tips in order of design process. This article is written for an intermediate Photoshop/Illustrator user and upwards, focusing on the technical side of things, so here goes…

Setup:

1. First and foremost, make sure you’re using the right CD tray card and booklet templates — and that the dimensions are precise, as this will save many headaches.

2. As with most graphic design work, set your files up in RGB for the initial design stages — and utilize the most appropriate color profile for the job.

3. Make critical decisions about the actual CD design print; if the client requires 2 spot colors, think about the Pantone Colors you’re going to use and how well the CMYK [final] imagery on the other files will match these colors (if a match is required). Also, if the CD design file colors are totally vector based from the start, use CMYK in this instance.

Design:

4. When working on your design, always remember to view it at 100%-size at regular intervals throughout the design process. This way, you will gain a good understanding of how the CD cover will look when printed. Remember, album artwork is now commonly viewed on-screen in programs such as iTunes – and on iPod’s/Zune’s, etc — so it’s important to consider what it will look like when scaled down on-screen. For example, does the printed work contain special ‘out-of-gamut’ spot colors, foil block or 3D elements? If so, consider developing a scree-safe alternate version for online and mobile use.

5. I recommend that all text used is in vector-format so that is prints as clearly as possible — if this is desired. Also, try and use fonts that can be embedded into a PDF – additionally, it’s worth converting all your type to outlines in the closing stages of your design work so you don’t have any worries about sending a copy of your chosen font to the printers, where mistakes can be made.

6. This tip is a Big one – make sure that once your, for example, PhotoShop and Illustrator files are compiled, that you utilize the Overprint Preview in Illustrator, Quark, etc. This is especially important on the CD Print design. The last thing you want is to have a light color overprinting a darker one, as this can totally ruin a design if not intended! See Image below:

7. If there’s one place on the CD design where text placement-accuracy is paramount — it’s on the tray card spines. On a standard jewel CD case template there’s barely a 1cm width to place a CD Title, Band Name, Record Company Logo and any other information that is required. My main advise here is not to utilize the full width of the spine, because depending on your printer, the text placement can easily get shunted left or right due to the inaccuracy of the printers’ guillotines. Remember, there should be a 3mm bleed on all your artwork (except CD Print), so strike a sensible balance of legibility of text and design-prudence.

Print:

8. When your design work is complete, it’s a good idea to zoom right out of your work in Illustrator, Freehand, etc. If you design like me, you may have random image snippets and text laying around the document bounds – so zooming out will reveal these. Also, while viewing far out, do an ‘Outline Preview’ to reveal any stray points and white/invisible vectors which may be littering the workspace. You may be surprised as to what you’ll find if you’ve been experimenting with a design for a while! See below:

9. Print out a hard-copy of your work on a good color laser or ink-jet printer. Make sure that ’scale to fit page’ is not selected when you print, making sure you do it at 100% scale. Utilize your printer drivers’ advanced color settings and use color profiles for the best possible color-match.

Get out a metal ruler & scalpel or guillotine, cut out the booklet pages and tray card (making sure you trim the 3mm bleed) and physically insert the prints into the jewel case to make sure they fit and look as desired. Check the spine text/components and make sure your design looks as intended through the ‘clear’ jewel case – making sure your chosen colors don’t look washed out.

10. Finally, once all is good, save or export your work to PDF. When you save the files, be sure to include your chosen CMYK color profiles and take a look at the PDF summary before saving. A common summary warning is that some artwork hasn’t been flattened or that the document raster effects are set at 72 dpi, which is below print-standard (typically 300 dpi). It’s a good idea to save the PDF in the most current version, but spare a thought if you’re sending your files abroad to a ‘less-advanced’ or developing country, as they may be using outdated PDF readers.

To summarize, the key to producing a CD album or music CD design is accuracy of setup, a creative and appropriate artwork & design and the utilization of PDF technology. I hope this helps you – tell me what you think! Any questions or comments are welcome…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Top Ten CD Cover Design Tips

Happy Christmas to all my online friends

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:55:38 PST

Image source midiman

It’s been a busy few days for me this year—entertaining friends, family and all—it’s now the 27th, so it’s about time to say ‘Happy Christmas’ to all my online friends! Hope you like my little picture of Baby Jesus! I hope you all had a great Christmas this year and are looking forward to the new year to come…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Happy Christmas to all my online friends

10 Excellent Paper-clip Designs for Marketing Campaigns

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:19:32 PST

Image Copyright: Clippa

Here is a list of 10 different types of paper-clips that can bear the name of your company or organization. Promotional aids like this make excellent marketing aids as they are likely to stay on a potential clients desk — with your logo in plain sight. They can either be used to hold a few sheets of paper together when posting marketing material, for example, or just available for people to see when reviewing your quotation, etc.

Some of the paper-clip concepts below are more cost-effective than others, but used correctly in any excellent marketing strategy, they can be a valuable tool. In no particular order, here are some of my favorite design-concepts that I myself would consider using:

The Mark Clip from Papircsipesz. Their site states: “The Markclip is ideal for displaying your logo or corporate name colourfully and stylishly. Attach your own Markclip to all outgoing post to ensure your daily correspondence and printed matter attract valuable extra attention.”

Promotional Magnetic Clips from Adco Marketing . Examples above include promotional clips for the World Wildlife Federation.

Jumbo Printed Paper-clips from The Print Warehouse. These clips are a cost effective way to promote any business effectively.

These promotional paper-clip from Cherokee Sky can be made using a custom mould for two colors. Being 10.5cm long, they’re another alternative in any marketing campaign.

Giant Paper-clips by 4imprint. Logos and marketing material can easily be printed onto the faces of these cost-effective clips.

A selection of Printed Ad-Clip Paperclips, again from The Print Warehouse. These promotional clips are available in a range of colors — and can also be purchased with personalized printed boxes.

Examples of aluminium or stainless steel Wingclips from BizClips. These prestigious-looking paper-clips are great for marketing purposes — but at a more premium price.

Heart-shaped plastic paper-clips by Ad Promotional Gifts. These examples for Ashland and Nike display how these items can be used for marketing.

Promotional Blu-Note clips from FortePromo. Their site states: “ [This] Multipurpose clip can be used to draw attention to photos, hold stacks of papers, or can be attached to a larger gift with a personalized card or note clipped underneath”.

Again from BizClips, these Shaped Wingclips are custom-shaped to meet individual requirements. I doubt that anyone would ever throw one of these beauties away.

Have you had your logo printed onto a custom paper-clip shape or design? Did you see an increase in responses from a marketing campaign that utilized them?Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

10 Excellent Paper-clip Designs for Marketing Campaigns

American-English or English Spelling in Blogs?

Andrew Kelsall — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:00:06 PST

Image: LexnGer

The last time a flew over to Florida on holiday, I can fondly remember having a bowl of Froot Loops® (which aren’t sold in England) and recognizing how brightly colored they were…or were they coloured?

As an Englishman, I know all-too-well that there are differences between English spelling and American-English spelling. Being aware of this, I always try to tailor the language of my articles to the main target audience. For example, for general articles, I will use American-English spelling as my reader-base is about 66% American. However, for my posts about work that I have done locally here in the UK, I will use native English spelling. Why? Because these articles are not only aimed at the ‘general reader’ and subscribers, but my local market — who may want to hire me for similar work, etc.

There is a resourceful Wikipedia article regarding some of the differences between the spelling of particular words on both sides of the pond. Here are some commonly-used words used:

(English version first, then American-English)

Color — Colour
Aeroplane — Airplane
Aluminium — Aluminum
Mum — Mom
Cheques — Checks
Speciality — Specialty

Furthermore, many UK words ending with “ise” such as specilise, recognise, and realise are spelt organize, recognize, and realize in American. Oh coarse I could go on and on, well beyond the scope of this post — I could discuss the use of totally different American and British words with the same meaning (Holiday and Vacation, for example), but I’ll end this article here.

What kind of spelling do you use of your blog or site? Do you tailor your language like myself, or always use one or the other? Your opinions are welcome…
Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

American-English or English Spelling in Blogs?

Andrew Kelsall, now on Twitter

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:29:06 PST

Image: aussiegall

I signed-up to Twitter weeks ago now, but I’ve only just managed to actually start using it! My Twitter name is AndrewKelsall — yep, no surprises there. Admitedly, I don’t know that much about this lark at the moment, but I’ve started to follow some fellow bloggers and see what it’s all about.

If like myself, you want to know more about the etiquette and fundamentals of Twitter, there are some useful comments on LaurenMaries’ CreativeCurio. If you are a user of this service, what do you think of it? If so, please add me to your Twitter friends and lets discuss design… Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Andrew Kelsall, now on Twitter

Avoid Bad Design with White Paint?

Andrew Kelsall — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:46:54 PST

A few months back, I was decorating my office — and choose the most outrageously-boring color available…white. Why? Because as designers, we should be very articulate with our use of color. The color we see on our screens can appear to be directly influenced with the colors that surround our peripheral vision.

For example, if you are designing a poster for a client, which includes images of white snow, you may end up editing the image with a slight blue tint if your surrounding walls are also blue. Why? Because your eyes will adjust to a alternate white point.

To illustrate this, look at the image below. The green bars at the top should look slightly darker than the ones below (dependent on your screen/monitor). This is due to a phenomenon called metamerism, whereby the surrounding colors directly ‘interfere’ with the appearance of another.

To check that the greens are the same color, just do a screen grab and use the color-drop tool in Photoshop or similar program. Cool eh? So the next time you are contemplating decorating your office, I urge you to consider using a neutral color. Grey is best, but for me, at least white is bright and clean.

Obviously, many surrounding artifacts and images could impair your color-judgement, so here another three tips (apart from the paintwork) to avoid bad design:

1. Don’t have a colorful desktop background.

2. Don’t have colorful posters or images in plain sight.

3. Don’t stick yellow/pink Post-it-Notes® to your screen-edge.

I’ll be writing some more articles soon about the use of color in graphic design. Why not subscribe to my feed so you don’t miss them? Do you have any bad experiences with color whilst designing? Is your office pink with blue stripes? If so, please leave your thoughts below…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Avoid Bad Design with White Paint?

Large-Format Foamex Design for Next Distribution

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:49:39 PST

I was approached by Richard Moody, ASM for the Dearne Valley Boxed Distribution Warehouse near where I live in West Yorkshire, to design a custom ‘pit-wheel’ for the inside top floor. This building is part of a 100m pound investment by Next, plc (which also comprises of the well-known Next Directory).

Richard wanted me to design a large, two metre-high structure that was based on a Pit-Wheel design. My last article about the Pit Stop logo (which was also done for Next) explains the relevance of this symbol. I was also tasked to design a smaller version as well, but this article focuss’s on the larger one I made.

Throughout this article, I will explain what exactly this ‘Pit Wheel’ is, what it is for and how I designed and constructed it.

The image above shows my original design proposal after I presented it to Richard on our first meeting. The first thing you may notice is how this project wasn’t a standard graphic design job. The task I was presented with was a challenge in itself — and bordered more on industrial design…but I do like custom work and enjoy a challenge.

I suggested that the design should be printed onto 10mm Foamex. This is a very strong material that is a cross between foam and plastic, and ideal material for large-format displays and custom work.

The image above shows a sample of the 10mm white Foamex used. This sample is one of the pieces I used to construct the upper section of the pit-wheel, explained later on in this article.

As can be seen in the above illustration, the Pit Wheel was to be comprised of three layers of 10mm Foamex. The round colored section was to be a wheel that would spin left or right. It was to be ‘housed’ in between two layers of Foamex to protect it from fraying after prolonged use.

As previously mentioned, I recently designed a logo for the same Next warehouse based on a pit-wheel design, with the words ‘Manvers Colliery’ included as part of it. I used the same vector image in this design, excluding these words.

The logo above shows how the original pit-wheel was implemented in the previous ‘Pit Stop’ logo design (again, the corresponding article on this can be found here)

As can be seen in the design above, I got to work designing the look of the pit-wheel. Richard wanted it to be functional and very clear. Well, a great way to convey clarity is with both form and colour, so I designed the wheel with four colours that were very bright, in four clearly-marked sections.

…And, oh, I think I’ve reached a point in this article where I better explain what this design is for. Staff who work at Dearne Valley Boxed (or DVB) are separated into four teams: Manvers, Wath, Frickley and Cortonwood. These are named after surrounding towns that once had Coal Mines. There are also fours areas that staff can work in (numbered 1-4), so the idea of this wheel is that every week, the wheel is turned, communicating to staff which area they will be working in — genius don’t you think?

For any of you who are either just interested or familiar with vectors, I have included a snippet of the wire-frame created in Adobe Illustrator (above). As can be seen, I experimented along the way to create a design that did its job properly — to effectively communicate to staff.

This is a closeup of the detail of the pit-wheel design. After importing the vector imagery into Photoshop, I layered-in some coal imagery for added affect. The green section displayed above shows how the coal fades into the green in a subtle manner.

When all the designs were complete and approved by the client, I set about preparing the artwork for print. This was quite a labourious task, as I had to separate the varied components into different files, name the files and mark where they needed to be trimmed by the printer.

Another consideration was the actual file setup. Obviously, I needed to convert the RGB imagery into CMYK, but I also needed to ensure all files were 400dpi at exactly one-quarter print size. If I were to get any dimensions wrong, the whole design wouldn’t work or fit together.

I also typed an extensive ‘Printers’ Note’ explaining further the exact final dimensions and where the cuts should be made.

The image above shows the final composition of the pit-wheel (on the left) and an example of two of the back supports on the right (not at scale/ratio to each other). These were printed on separate boards of Foamex — which were arranged for maximum cost effectiveness for the client, Richard Moody at Next DVB.

Finally, once the designs were printed by JustDisplays.co.uk, I constructed the two metre-high unit using 3M SprayMount and brass screws. Foamex has the density of a soft wood, so screws can hold these Foamex boards together quite well.

I attached handles made of Aluminium and Acrylic to the wheel so it could easily be rotated. After constructing the pit-wheel, I liaised with a local construction firm on-site, who constructed a black wooden frame, as Next wanted the structure to be free-standing next to a notice board (shown above).

Overall, I was pleased with the results, with everything going to plan. The Foamex shapes were the correct size, the print-work came out great — and the client was impressed.

Do you like this large-format design? Have you done anything similar? If you have completed a job like this, what did you do?

Finally, a bit of self-promotion…

If you would like me to work on a custom project like this for you, please contact me or use my Hire Me online form. If the project requires constructing, like this example, I’m a very ‘hands-on’ designer and can qive you a quotation inclusive of this. Generally, I will travel up to 50 miles away from the Leeds area, but costing for longer distances is not ruled out.Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Large-Format Foamex Design for Next Distribution

Logo Design & Signage for ‘The Pit Stop’

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:16:58 PST

Recently, I was asked to produce a logo design and signage for a staff restaurant in one of Next, Plc’s new multi-million pound Distribution Warehouses, located in an area called Manvers Way (in South Yorkshire, UK).

My client, the management of the new Distribution Centre (Dearne Valley Boxed), wanted a logo design that reflected the heritage of the location this warehouse was built. The whole area around the Next warehouse and other buidings was built on Manvers Way — which was once home to the historic Manvers Colliery.

With this information in mind, I set out to create a meaningful logo that was both respectful and complimentary to the heritage of Manvers. The image above shows three pages of the original logo design concepts presented to the client, along with some research findings on the top of each concept-page.

As can be seen, the logo chosen comprised of a Pit Wheel — a familiar symbol of the mining era, which was almost abolished by Prime Minister and Conservative, Margaret Thatcher.

As I was finalizing the chosen concept, a member of the Next Management team wanted to see a tyre in place of a pit wheel. The idea of this was to see what the whole concept would look like if the staff restaurant was themed using a racing-track concept. I designed some variations (shown above) and actually chose the ‘Pit Stop Tyre’ concept instead.

Personally, I didn’t agree with the decision and expressed my concerns — especially the fact that using a rubber tyre with a knife and fork would give rise the the negative connotation “it’s like eating rubber”.

However, in the end, the management decided to revert back to the coal-mining theme using the Pit Wheel symbol. Additionally, they wanted the words ‘Manvers Colliery‘ included on the wheel. So I integrated the words in a way that suited the overall design.

When the logo was finalized, I designed a 164cmH x 45cmW DiaBond Aluminium Sign, which was printed by JustDisplays.co.uk, a specialist signage and large-format printer that I would recommend to anyone. As can be seen, the sign includes a backdrop of coal, the perfect compliment to both the logo and Pit-Theme.

When the logo is used in small-format, the alternate version of the logo is to be used (without the additional wording). Overall, this was a great project to work on, and I’d like to say a big “Thank You” to the Next Plc management team.

What do you think of the logo, theme and signage? I’d like to hear your opinion…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Logo Design & Signage for ‘The Pit Stop’

How I customized my Wordpress Blog #4

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:16:57 PST

Firstly, I would like to thank you, both ‘readers’ and RSS Subscribers, who are following this article series. It’s been a while since my last installment due to a heavy design-workload.

In my last installment, I wrote of how I learned to code CSS. This part is about how I chose a Wordpress theme to customize. When I initially decided to use Wordpress, I had three options regarding the design of the blog, as follows:

Design my own theme/template

Although there are plenty of tutorials out there on how to do this, I determined that it would take too much of my very precious time to learn about designing my own theme. Although I had the ability to code CSS, designing for a PHP-based blog would command new skills that would take time to both learn and master.

Use a pre-designed theme/template

Obviously, this option would take the least amount of time to implement, however, as a designer I needed to stand out from the crowd and stamp my own flair regarding my online presence. The way that my site is presented online is the bridge between potential clients and myself, not to mention my readers also. So for me, using a pre-designed theme, either free or “premium” (paid-for) simply wasn’t a viable option.

Customize as pre-designed theme

Well, as you guessed, this is the option I chose because it gave me the best of both worlds. I was able to design my own graphics for my blog, but using the code structure of a theme that had already been designed and tested.

If like myself, you are already a Wordpress user, you will have probably seen the vast array of templates out there, both free and Premium. What I was looking for was a theme that I could strip down to the bone, as it were. I searched the net for a while looking for a theme with a great structure, not design. To elaborate, I wanted a theme that just had a basic code-structure that I could leverage to create a unique appearance out of.

The screen-shot (at the top of this post) is the theme that I chose to use — GridFocus by Derek Punsalan of 5ThirtyOne.com. Now, I had seen this template used many times before on various blogs, customized by site owners and designers. I noticed how well it could be be adjusted to any particular blog, with the only main aspect giving-away that it was GridFocus was the main navigation bar. It would be fair to assume that the majority of non-designers and non-bloggers would even notice this theme being used on various sites.

So, after downloading the theme, I set to work on customizing the images and even overall layout. This shall be covered in more detail in Part #5, be sure to subscribe to my feed so you don’t miss it.

If you have any questions or comments on this article, please type your message below…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How I customized my Wordpress Blog #4

How to get a Design Job using Tinned Meat!

Andrew Kelsall — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:31:15 PST

This article is dedicated to the Blog Action Day Poverty Fund as part of the Jacob Cass Group Writing Project, together with a PayPal donation. The proceeds go directly to the fund to help stamp out World-wide Poverty. You can visit the official Blog Action Day site here.

Now, for the article…

Image copyright here

A few years ago, when I left the Coventry University School of Art and Design, England, I landed a freelancing contract just a few days after returning home. How? I quite literally spammed some design companies!

STAGE 1: POSTING TINS WITH NO EXPLANATION

The first stage of this marketing campaign was very simple. I posted out empty tins/cans of SPAM meat in the post. After eating the SPAM (it tastes OK on a sandwich — there’s millions of staving people out there, I wasn’t going to waste it), I targeted a few design companies that I would like to work for and stuck a stamp directly onto the cans with their addresses and posted them. Yes, that was it. Just an address with no explanation on the tins.

I repeated this process over several days, until each company I targeted received about 5 tins through the post. Here in the UK, if you post something with a stamp on it, and it’s not hazardous, the ‘posty’ has to deliver it, so the SPAM got through okay.

My hope was for staff at the targeted design companies to ponder the meaning of the SPAM tins. I hoped it would create discussion between team members, with bemusement with each and every can posted to them. I anticipated reactions like this:

What the heck is this? Another tin of SPAM…this is the third one this week! What’s it all about?

Hay you guys, does anyone know who posting this SPAM? If someones playing a joke on me, which one of you is it?

Well, I found out later than I did promote discussions like this…read on…

STAGE 2: POSTING A SPAM-BRANDED FOLDER WITH MY CV

After I had finished posting of the SPAM cans, I waited a day or two, then sent out a folder showing a tin of SPAM on the cover stating “You’ve Been Spammed” (shown in the image below).

The folder was about A5 in size and opened up like a four-page brochure.

When opened, my covering letter and CV (printed on A4 paper) were folded in half and tucked inside the mock-up SPAM can, as shown in the three images below.

This folder was designed to put to rest all discussions and curiosities surrounding my “Spamming Campaign”. My covering letter contained this text:

Title in Spam-Shaped box at top simply said: What?

Dear Sir/Maddam

I am a recent graduate from the Coventry University School of Art and Design seeking employment. As a former student, I’m hard-up and living off SPAM — so your Post-Box has been Spammed rather than your In-box to let you know who I am!

Ok, I’m not really living off SPAM, but I am looking for a job in a company such as yours in this region. I believe that I could be a benefit to you and your clients…[and so on].

STAGE 3: THE JOB OFFER

Well, those curious reactions I was banking on to land me a job was a reality. I was invited to do various free-lancing work at Wobble Design Ltd in Leeds, UK. When I went to work there on the first day, the design team told me the reason I got the job was for my ingenious marketing campaign. They said they were curious to the reasons they was receiving my little empty cans of tin meat, and it promoted many discussions between them and the architecture firm next door!

So, if you’re wanting to stand out from the crowd, be different and do something unusual. If you want a Graphic Design or any other job, just be creative, be different and set yourself apart from the crowd. You never know where it will lead you.

But if you’re fed-up with hearing about SPAM, heres a lovely photo for you instead. Enjoy!

Image copyright here

Have you marketed yourself in an outreagous manner? If so, did it get you anywhere? I’d like to hear your stories…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How to get a Design Job using Tinned Meat!

Logo Designs and Marketing for G.E.D.T

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:33:21 PDT

I was tasked by Gavin Evans, a driving instructor based in Hemsworth and Elmsall, West Yorkshire (UK) to design a logo and marketing designs for his Instructor Training Business named Gavin Evans Driver Training (or G.E.D.T). Basically, Gavin takes pupils and teachers them to drive and even does advanced motorway training courses.

After discussing his requirements, we settled on a logo design based upon a shield motif with the initials G.E.D.T incorporated into it. The image above shows this design in its print-formation (I’ll get to that next).

I initially suggested a shield-based design to Gavin, as shields represent strength, authority and stability — all positive aspects of what a Driving Instructor could possibly convey to any potential pupil.

The great thing about this logo is the varied configurations that it can possess. The image above displays an alignment that is more fitting for limited horizontal space (such as when on the bonnet of the car).

I used the logo design to design an advertisement (above) which featured in the Thompson Local (advertising directory) to both sustain and promote his growing business. As can be seen, the logo configuration I used here also coined the tag-line A Flair for Success.

This tag-line was used on all marketing and promotional material for Gavin’s Driver Training Business. The car print displayed above shows some of the general layout and colour-scheme of one of the two cars he has used to instruct pupils in. The sides of the car display his web-site address and other information.

The flyer design (postcard) shown above was printed onto 350gsm gloss-card and distributed throughout local areas around Hemsworth and Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

I also designed some business cards for Gavin printed onto the same type of card. The photo above shows one of the glossy cards, with the flyer (pamphlet) design in the background.

I also branded a web site design for Gavin, which is a place where potential pupils can contact him. The site displays his pricing structure as well as photos and other relevant information. Visit Gavin Evans Driver Training to take a look.

Recently, Gavin asked me to design some marketing material for the franchise side of his business. I suggested to him that it would be a great idea to segregate the two sides of the business with a different colour-scheme, with orange/grey being the most attractive and meaningful. As orange is associated with optimism, it ended up being chosen simply because it worked well and looked great.

Again, I designed a flyer for Gavin which is to be printed soon. This design is currently being used for various online publications on the internet.

If you run a Driver Training Business and would like me to work with you on a logo design, marketing, promotion and car print (livery print design), please contact me for details.

What do you think about these designs? I’d like to hear your opinions…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Logo Designs and Marketing for G.E.D.T

I’m not lost, really!

Andrew Kelsall — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:45:46 PDT

Image copyright here

Hi, this is just a very, very quick post to remind my you, my readers, that I am still here, well, alive and definitely not lost. I’m extremely busy working for a client right now, but as soon as this project is complete, I’ll try my best to make up for lost time, and blog about some designs I have been working on of late.

Also, I’ll be adding the next installment of ‘How I customized my Wordpress Blog’. Please stay tuned — thanks for your patience…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

I’m not lost, really!

How cForms 2 wiped out my Wordpress Blog

Andrew Kelsall — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:54:55 PDT

Image copyright here

Today, I noticed on my Wordpress dashboard that another plugin was due an upgrade. I looked, and there it was — cForms version 9.0 ready for automatic install. There was a bright red warning stating that it was advisable to back up my database before updating it. Luckily, I had just received the database backup via email yesterday, via the DataBase Backup Plugin.

So, I installed the plugin and my screen went blank. Then in one foul swoop, it felled my blog for 45 minutes. I had no idea how to reset my database, so I searched the Internet and found the following tutorial from WordPress. So, if any of you out there have the same problem with this plugin (I’m using WP 2.6.2 by the way), the simple steps on this tutorial should restore your blog.

Until I get the plugin to work again, there are no contact forms here for the time being, as I’m busy with a project so I have no tinkering-time. I just have 15 minutes to write this post about my experience, and urge anyone who plans to upgrade to version 9.0 to backup, backup, backup…or risk a WP explosion of your own!

For the next few days, please send any emails to me at contactme [at] andrewkelsall [one dot] com instead of trying to use one of my forms by cForms, thanks.

BTW, I’m not blaming cForms — it may be my blog setup…I’ll investigate soon…Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How cForms 2 wiped out my Wordpress Blog

Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Logo, Poster and Large-Format Print Design

Logo Design for Woodlands Community Church

Have you watched the new iMac Video?

Learn Something New Every Day

Colours by GF Smith

The Secret of Tracking Keywords

First Video Post: My New Business Card Design

How I customized my Blog #5: Conclusion

How to Design a Mockup Pallet Racking

Why?

What I my task was…

How I rose to the Challenge

Photography

Working in Photoshop®

Printing onto Foamex®

Design Proofs

Design mockups

Foamex® Delivery & Assembly

The Finished Foamex® Pallet Racking Design

Conclusion

Finally, a bit of self-promotion…

Case Study: Identity, Branding and Signage for St Luke’s Church

The Brief

Initial Logo Designs

Concept 6: The Logos chosen for development

Letterhead Designs, Business Cards & Stationary

Project Summary

TwittBits: A Lazy Sunday Afternoon for Designers?

How I (in theory) increased my Google Pagerank

Velvet Ant feature: Ghosts of design work past

Billings 3 for Mac OS X—Professional Invoicing

What is Billings 3*?

How to use Billings…

Timers

Invoices

Conclusion

Excellent Email Advertisement about Skype

Amazing Color Effect 2: Successive Contrast

How Mashable gave me 1200+ Twitter Followers

My Bag Contents Featured on Design O’Blog

Amazing color effect that all designers should see…

Why is this happening?

Twitt-Bits: Logos, Illustrator and a Couch

What are Color Gamuts? Part One

Adobe RGB (1998)

Comparing Color Gamuts

Introducing Twitt-Bits Mini-posts on AK

What are Color Profiles?

The Andrew Kelsall Logo Design Showcased…

Pure Christian Graphic Design Launches!

Never mind .eu .me or .whatever, give me .tel!

What are the Benefits of Designing in RGB for CMYK Print?

Benefits of Designing in RGB

Benefits of Designing in CMYK

This is not the end of the subject

Three Great Logos I saw in London

Blacks logo

Eat. The Real Food Company

Geox Logo

Uprinting Business Card Competition Winners!

Loving the Creative Community on SpoonFed Design

For reference, here are the other nineteen bloggers who gave insightful answers:

Win 1000 Free Business Cards or Canvas Print with a Creative Comment

I am #525915, what are you?

Andrew Kelsall bought a MoleSkine® Notebook

How NOT to lock your bike in New York City

The Professional Designer’s Guide to using Black

Part One: The Different Blacks

Part Two: Using Black

Part Three: Misuse of Black

Recommended Articles of Interest

10 Excellent Fractal Images for Inspiration

Top Ten CD Cover Design Tips

Happy Christmas to all my online friends

10 Excellent Paper-clip Designs for Marketing Campaigns

American-English or English Spelling in Blogs?

Andrew Kelsall, now on Twitter

Avoid Bad Design with White Paint?

Large-Format Foamex Design for Next Distribution

Finally, a bit of self-promotion…