The next item I want to share with you is the welcome banner that will be at the front door as people enter Rockwood Church. As you can see, it carries the theme of the postcard with the dot pattern graphic along with a stylized illustration of a person with their arms outstretched. Throughout this project, my biggest concern was that all the signs and banners look like a package. I think that goal was achieved and this banner is my favorite of the group.
One of the major necessities of a successful church launch is having people actually show up. In order to help this happen, one of the tools we turned to was a postcard to mail out to around 10,000 people. This card incorporates elements that are being used in the signs for Rockwood to help form a cohesive identity. In fact, this image is more or less the same design that visitors to Rockwood Church will see when they enter the building. I think this image of a family has an energy and embodies the three core values of the church; Living Faith, Loving Families, and Lasting Friendships.
GASP!!!
Hello all. I’ve just finished up a big week month of work for the launch of Rockwood Church. There are still things to be done but the GREAT BIGGIE part of the project (which would be all the signs/banners) were delivered today save one banner. I plan to prepare some posts showing off these pieces as promised. I’m very excited about what these banners will do for the overall presentation of the church. I’ll get one or two things posted over the weekend and then more as the week progresses leading up to the big LAUNCH!
One of the many things that occupy my time when I’m not working is the design work I get to do for my church. This fall, my church will be launching, or more aptly re-launching, as Rockwood Church. It’s an exciting time but also a bit stressful because there is a lot riding on this in a practical sense. A good deal of what goes into making this work is developing a new visual identity that will introduce people to the church.
Some of the things that are being developed are; stationery, business cards, postcards, advertisements, website, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 different banners or signs that will be used in the school we’re meeting in. Whew!
I’ll be posting some of this work in the coming weeks as the time draw nearer to the big day, 9.28.08!
Here we go. The new feature I mentioned has arrived. I’m calling it the Defy Creative Release Series and the plan is for this to be a weekly release of a video for your consideration. Each week the new video will be available for free in a resolution of 640×480 for a period of about a week. After that, the video will be available at the Defy Creative Store for $8.00. In addition, a 720p version of the video will also be for sale and will be %25 off for the week of release. At the end of the week, it returns to its original price.
These videos are .MOV files playable in presentation software such as Keynote or MediaShout® as well as video editing software.
I hope that everyone will enjoy these videos and let me know if you do. Also, if there is interest, I would be willing to make other sizes available for purchase as long as there is some consensus about what they should be.
Download the free version here
Purchase the 640×480 version here
Purchase the 720p version at 25% off here
As I have mentioned previously I had the privilege of working on the latest edition of Co. Aytch. Co. Aytch is among the most beloved of all books about the Civil War in that it offers the best account of a soldier’s life from his point of view. Sam’s great-granddaughter, Ruth Hill McAllister approached Providence House Publishers with a first edition copy of the book that belonged to Sam Watkins, the book’s author. Sam always intended to republish Co. Aytch with changes to certain things that he felt were inaccurate in the first edition. With the original printing sold out, Sam set out to raise half of the $500 needed to have a second printing that would include the changes. Sam passed away before the money was raised and the changes were never incorporated in the book.Ruth Hill had been shown this first edition years earlier by an uncle that owned it. As time went by, the book was put away and forgotten by other members of the family. Ruth Hill’s interest in family history led her to inquire about the book. Eventually, she was contacted by a cousin who had discovered it in an old desk that belonged to her uncle and offered to sell it to her. Meanwhile, over the years there have been many printings of Co. Aytch which are now rendered obsolete by this definitive edition.
“The only thing better than Sam Watkins is more Sam Watkins. This is a marvelous expansion of the best memoir of a fighting soldier south of the Mason-Dixon Line we have.”
Ken Burns, Filmaker
The most challenging aspect of the new edition was what to do about the proposed deletions, additions, and changes. Some things Sam intended to take out because, it was believed, he recalled things incorrectly. In other cases possibly because of economics. From the Publisher’s Preface:
In paging through Sam Watkins’s own faded and written-in copy of the 1882 edition, we were struck by how much of the original book Sam proposed omitting. Further research allowed us to conclude that Sam’s proposed omissions were primarily based on economics. We believe Sam only wanted to omit them because he was faced with financing the typesetting and printing of his revised edition himself, and therefore, it was to his benefit to omit text and thus lower the cost for publishing.
Ultimately because the text is so sacred, it was decided to develop a system by which all the original text stayed intact while the additions and corrections were weaved in. The system was this:
Original text as published in 1882—Roman text (plain) and italics where used in originalSam’s additions or substitutions—BoldSam’s suggested deletions—[Italic within brackets]Sam’s additions that he later omitted —[Bold within brackets]
Also included in this edition are photos that have never been used in previous editions. Most importantly, are Sam’s actual written notes from the margins of the original edition that have been included as art. These are placed in close proximity to where the text occurs in the book. Many examples of this are included throughout the book. Here a a couple of them.
It was a great thrill to be involved in producing a new edition of Co. Aytch and made even more special by the early response the book received from reviewers. Even if you have only a passing interest in Civil War history, I encourage you to check out the new version of Co. Aytch, First Tennessee Regiment: Or A Side Show of the Big Show available from Providence House Publishers.
I mentioned in my previous post that I would give you more info on Expanse and here it is, as promised.
Expanse Volume 1 is a collection of 20 looping background videos that offer a more immersive experience to your presentations. Expanse 2400×600 pixel background videos are designed for use with multi-screen setups that span the width of the screens with a single video. The videos in this set are in the MOV(H.264) format and are compatible with most presentation software that support this format. As I said in my last post, these can now be downloaded from MediaShout’s online store in the .wmv format.
Some cool news to report. Now the Defy Creative releases of Luminous motion bible background videos and Expanse super-wide background videos are available for download from the MediaShout® online store shoutable.com. The files are in the .wmv format natively supported by MediaShout® worship presentation software. Of course, these are available on disk from the Defy Creative Store. The disk version includes .mov versions of the videos as well.
You can find out more about Luminous here. More info on Expanse is still to come.
As I have mentioned, one of the facets of what I do is book design. Recently, Co. Aytch, First Tennesee Regiment, or a Side Show of the Big Show was published by Providence House Publishers. I had the distinct privilege to be able to design what I believe to be the definitive edition of this book.
For those who are not familiar with Civil War history, Co. Aytch is considered to be THE memoir about the common soldier’s life in the war. It has been published numerous times over the years but never with the detail and added features to be found in this version.
Joe Avalon over at Civil War Interactive has reviewed the book and given it his blessing. If you’re a Civil War history buff, check out his review and also pick up a copy of Co. Aytch. In the coming days, I’ll have an in depth case study about the challenge that this new edition presented and how those problems were resolved. Stay tuned.
JM
Here is a collection of new background videos that are available for download at the Defy Creative online store. These seamless looping videos are part of a collection I’m calling Rhythm and Flow and can be used in presentation software such as Keynote or MediaShout. They are 640×480 and are in the .MOV(H.264) format and are $8.00 each.
JM
