I was just in the bookstore looking at the magazine rack and I again made notice of a sad trend. Magazines are looking downright thin these days. Being a designer, I naturally gravitate to the design related section of the newsstand and that is where I have seen it. In recent months,  my favorite design mags have dwindled in size while at the same time, increasing their prices.

The most desired issues of these magazines, for me, has always been their design annuals and I’m not the only one. For that reason, these have historically been more expensive than the average issue. One of the recent HOW magazine design annuals I picked up seemed thinner than an average issue would have been a few years ago. That even included a couple of advertisements for paper companies which always add a little girth to the book. They are typically printed on the heavier stock being advertised. Just holding it in your hand, you can’t help but realize the problem. Ads. While I have only the data gathered by my eyes and the feel of the book in my hand, undoubtedly ad revenues are down in a big way.

Another example was my latest trip to the newsstand. The Print Regional Design Annual is now on sale and it can be safely said that it is half the size it used to be and substantially more expensive at $39. As much as I value these particular issues that showcase the work of fellow designers, I find it hard to justify paying those prices.

Besides the economy, we’ve all heard about the dire straits of print journalism in the media in recent years. Falling circulations and ad sales have delivered a crushing blow that most can’t recover from. With the fast pace of the internet and the hunger for up-to-the-minute news, print publications can’t compete.

I hate to see this happen to such a great medium. I don’t know where magazines fit into the equation, where design is such a crucial component of what they are. Like books, the experience doesn’t translate anywhere near the same when looking at a screen. I do hope they can survive, one way or another.

written by JM

Today Defy Creative launched a new service aimed at offering companies and organizations the ability to get their design work done at an affordable rate. Maybe a company has never had an in-house designer or maybe they’ve been forced to downsize. Whatever the reason, I saw an opportunity to supply companies with quality design work at a fraction of the cost of a traditional employee.

The Personal Designer Subscription Service is a subscription that, with a 6-month or 12-month commitment, allows for the design of certain projects that otherwise would cost hundreds more individually. At $299.99/month for 6 months or at $249.99/month for 12 months, organizations can get custom designed projects that will give consistent branding across their marketing efforts.

Available services are: (1 per month)

• 4-page 8.5×11 newsletter design
• Postcard design
• Banner design (ex. up to 40″ x 80″)
• Advertisement design
• Flier design
• 8.5×11 brochure design
• Poster design
• Website header graphic

If a project falls outside the scope of these services, a request for quote can be made under a more traditional arrangement.

I believe this is a great opportunity for businesses to get design work done where it often goes undone. Head on over to the Personal Designer Subscription Service section of the site and sign up!

written by JM \\ tags: graphic design

The latest release in the DesignerPacks Series is DesignerPack 2. DesignerPacks are collections of themed graphics for use in your own designs.

The DesignerPack 2 collection features three 9 x 11.5 layered Photoshop documents (.PSD) that can be used as letterhead, newsletter design, or as a flier, all including a bleed area. Also included is a 9 x 6  layered Photoshop document (.PSD) with a bleed area. Additionally the package has TIFF files that can be directly incorporated into your page layout application of choice such as Quark XPress, Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Word among others. Each file is in CMYK and fully editable. Additionally, the graphic files can be used in your Keynote, PowerPoint or your presentation software of choice. DesignerPack 2 is available now for $24.99.

NOTE: Adobe Photoshop is required to edit .PSD files and produce CMYK files suitable for printing. Other image editors such as Pixelmator or Acorn will produce RGB files suitable for online or on screen viewing.

written by JM \\ tags: graphic design, templates

NOTE: I am aware that some of the images below are not showing up for PC users running Internet Explorer. Tests in Firefox have shown that the images appear in that browser and may provide a better alternative.

For a great deal of the summer, my time had been consumed with the design of two books whose planning began over a year ago. I was fortunate enough to have been involved in the development phase of the project and luckily the pieces fell into place that allowed me the opportunity to execute the design. These new books will published by Providence House Publishers under the series name Historic Hospitality. The first two titles, Meet Me at The Belle Meade Plantation and Meet Me at The Hermitage Hotel will make their debut at the National Preservation Conference in Nashville in October.

The goal of the series is to couple historic imagery and narrative along with recipes that compliment the locale. These books will be a keepsake for visitors to the properties showcased in each title.

Personally, I can’t get enough of working with old images. There is a character in old photos that can’t be compared to contemporary images. The Belle Meade Plantation and The Hermitage Hotel didn’t disappoint with great photography.

The Belle Meade Plantation

One distinction between these two properties is that the plantation’s heyday, and thus most of its best images, come from the 1800s. Its history is rich with visits from heads of state to the breeding of thoroughbreds. From the publisher’s introduction,

We are proud to include the Belle Meade Plantation, located in Nashville,Tennessee, as one of our featured Historic Hospitality sites. Once rated among the most famous thoroughbred breeding farms in the world, it is still widely known as “The Queen of Tennessee Plantations, “ and still providing memorable glimpses of life as it was in the Old South. It is our pleasure to share her story here with you.

The Hermitage Hotel

By contrast, the Hermitage Hotel has had its ups and downs and been at the center of Nashville life since its construction in 1910 up to this day. Written about the hotel at its opening,

The Hotel Hermitage is one of the South’s leading hotels, in fact one of America’s noted hostelries. There is no hotel in the country more magnificently fitted, appointed, and furnished.

Since then it has seen success, been condemned and is now restored to its original grandeur. In 2010, the hotel will celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Design

The design of these books presented a unique challenge to that of a typical history. The inclusion of recipes and the editorial considerations gave an added wrinkle of complexity to the project. There were several rounds of revisions on each title, moving pictures or removing them altogether until it resembled a game of musical chairs. With so many moving parts, it’s very much like assembling a puzzle. As I said, having been in on the planning stages of this project, it was very gratifying to see it come to fruition. Be on the lookout for these and future titles. I will update here when they are available.

written by JM \\ tags: Books, graphic design, history

Defy Creative's DesignerPacks Photoshop Templates

Defy Creative introduces DesignerPacks. DesignerPacks are collections of themed graphics for use in your own designs and are available now in the Defy Creative Store. The debut collection, DesignerPack 1,  features a 9 x 11.5 layered Photoshop document (.PSD) as well as two 9 x 6  layered Photoshop documents (.PSD) both including a bleed area. Also included are TIFF files that can be directly incorporated into your page layout application of choice such as Quark XPress, Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Word among others. Each file is in CMYK and fully editable. Additionally, the files can be used in your Keynote, PowerPoint or your presentation software of choice. NOTE: Adobe Photoshop is required to edit .PSD files and produce CMYK files suitable for printing. Other image editors such as Pixelmator or Acorn will produce RGB files suitable for online or on screen viewing.

written by JM \\ tags: graphic design, templates

One of the biggest challenges a graphic designer can face is getting others to appreciate the value of good design. Perhaps the first problem is there are those, who when you tell them what it is you do, don’t really know what graphic design is. Even when they know, the complexities of arriving at the right solution to a problem are lost on them.

When developing a brand identity, a company’s logo is the forefront of communication. When it comes to prices, logos can be priced from a hundred dollars to tens of thousands. With the latter, market research is done, focus groups formed. Microscopic scrutiny of every detail; colors, application and sizes among others.

At its essence it is art and likewise, for the most part, viewed subjectively. A logo’s value is based on what it does for its owner. For instance, in the rebranding of Fed Ex, there were over 200 designs for the now ubiquitous mark. The sheer amount of work that went into it no doubt cost tens of thousands if not more. No one would question that it was worth it.

Not every logo will garner the attention nor command a fee like that of Fed Ex or needs to. The important thing to remember is that a designer puts their effort into creating a mark in which you can take pride. Don’t sell yourself short by compromising what is an integral part of your image.

written by JM \\ tags: graphic, logo

I’ve added some items to the portfolio here. One is a logo I did some time ago that you can read about here. The others include a logo for the Children’s Ministry Forum which is an event sponsored by the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church and a cover for a book that chronicles historic properties of Maury County, Tennessee.

UPDATE: I’ve added a two more images to the mix. A spread from the book Til We Meet Again and the cover for a book entitled A Disciple’s Journal.

written by JM \\ tags: book, graphic design, logo

Small Office-Home Office Illustration Pack

A new item has been added to the Defy Creative Store. The SOHO IlloPack1 is a collection of illustrations for use in print, video, and interactive that offer quirky character with a touch of flair. The collection includes 5 fully editable illustrations in Adobe Illustrator format and also each individual illustration in a high resolution JPEG version. The illustrations include a printer, business card, laptop, stickies, and phone. The collection is available as a download now for $4.99.

written by JM \\ tags: business card, illustration, laptop, office, phone, printer, stickies, vector

One of my favorite things is when the various graphic design magazines come out with their design annuals and showcases of promotional designs. The self-promotion annuals are particularly good because there are a lot of supporting articles dealing with the issue of promotion. As most any designer knows, self-promotion is the “red-headed step child” of your body of work and we need all the insight and inspiration we can get. If you’re like most, you either can’t reach a point at which you’re satisfied with what you’ve done or you flat out don’t take the time to do the project at all. 

As good as some of these articles are, the thing that really irks me about others is how cynical the authors or those they interview are about the efforts of some promotions. These art directors and marketing managers say they are so inundated with such things that they usually end up in the trash. The disdain is palpable. 

What I would like to say to fellow designers and creatives everywhere is, don’t listen to the negativity and do that which you are able to do and do it well. Established firms and individuals probably don’t need my encouragement but instead it’s for those striking out on their own for the first time. In tough times, you do what you can to promote yourself. If that means sending out postcards, then that’s what you do. If you don’t have money for that, get out and go to local professional events and other networking opportunities. If none exist, start one. 

Promotion is not so much a mystery as it is a call for us to stretch ourselves professionally beyond what we thought we could do. A friend recently wrote a note on her Facebook wall that was apparently a quote from Jennifer Aniston, “Everything you want in the world is just right outside your comfort zone.” That totally hit home for me. Much of what I have to share with you is usually also a call to action for myself. It’s my hope that as I work through these things, they can benefit anyone who reads what I have to say.

written by JM \\ tags: graphic design, marketing, self promotion

As I mentioned before, I am making some tweaks to the site and among them is the addition of a Products & Services section. One major focus of this is offering Defy Creative’s design services in the area of sign and banner design. As I outlined in some fairly recent posts, mobile churches have a need for this type of work to help transform their surroundings. I hope this new section will help highlight the many offerings Defy Creative provides.

written by JM