As if it were a statue being hewn from granite with a spork, so goes the redesign of DefyCreative.com. It’s a long time in coming and not without its challenges. I won’t bore you with the details but it’s slowly but surely on the way. Meanwhile, look for new posts and the like. I know, you’ve heard it all before…
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!
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.
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.
It’s been far too long since my last dispatch and this particular post happens to be the 100th here on the old blog. We’re also approaching the 2 year anniversary of my first post. Since this was the hundredth post I thought it would be a good time for a little reflection. This may hurt a bit.
I set out to post stories about things that interest me in technology, entertainment, design and similar interests. I have enjoyed, most of the time, sharing these things. Admittedly there have also been times when writing has been a chore and if I did it at all, it was begrudgingly (as is evidenced by averaging about a post per week). I’m not the best writer but I know enough to say that most of us have to work at it diligently. Becoming a better communicator is a worthy goal anytime but most of all now. In our texting, Twittering, and Facebook updating world, good communication practices have taken a hit in the name of brevity.
I’ve been a very lazy blogger. Just like I mentioned recently, I sometimes feel the need to reach for something to say. Most of the time I choose to remain silent figuring if it’s too hard to write about something then it’s best not to. Though blogging and Twittering about yourself seem like narcissism to some, doing these things aren’t very natural for me. I just realize it helps when you’re marketing to have a digital presence…that’s a big part of what it’s all about.
We use the start of a new year for resolutions on how we are going to improve ourselves. I have made statements on how I intend to post more regularly and have fallen way short of that. Looking back on some of my early posts, they seem better than many of the latter ones. If that is true to the objective viewer it’s probably because I was trying harder then. As a new blogger trying harder to be good at something I had little experience in. I won’t promise to post more regularly but I will promise to work harder at being better when I do.
Some slight changes are in order for defycreative.com. With my aforementioned Unfortunate Unemployment I have a need for…well, money…but also to change the way in which I present myself. Very shortly I will be moving the blog portion of the site from the front page and replace it with more of a marketing driven front page. I have realized that I could be doing a better job of letting people out there know that I am a design gun for hire.
So there you have it. I’ll still be writing about things that I’m interested in and that get on my nerves, it’ll just be on a different page. The good news is that for the both of you out there subscribed to my feed, things should still work correctly in terms of getting updates.
Earlier this month I became an economic statistic. My full-time gig as a book designer has, for the moment, come to an end. As we all know, fear has caused people to hold on more tightly to their dollars and it is effecting everyone.
Chances are you or someone you know has had the same thing happen to them. I encourage those people to use this time wisely. As you’re on the lookout for new opportunities, take the time to learn something new. I was laid off 10 years ago and naturally didn’t have the perspective I have now. I didn’t make the most of the time between jobs and I regret it. Now I am taking the time to work on projects that I would like to be doing all of the time. In addition I am working on teaching myself new things. Try learning a new application, adding to your toolbox. Most all applications offer 30-day trials to try before you buy.
Try to see the best in your situation and use the opportunity to make yourself more marketable to a prospective employer or client. When you look back on this time, be sure you did the most with it.
Be sure to check out the new Defy Creative portfolio page. There are only a few examples so far but I will be adding to in the coming days.
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!