Rice Design has created a new identity for the Georgetown Church of the Nazarene. The new logo design was immediately implemented in weekly bulletins, interior and exterior signage and other promotional items.
WordCamp Birmingham
This past weekend I attended my first WordCamp in Birmingham, Alabama. I made the 6 hour trip from Lexington to Birmingham with my friend Bill Powell of Inbox Orange to experience the developer track. Bill also shares my passion for social media and WordPress. It was a great experience filled with new found knowledge, friends and a new perspective on WordPress. I made the most of this WordCamp by taking a great deal of notes, asking questions and seeking the advice of more seasoned WordPress professionals. There were many there who had what we’d consider “Rockstar” status, but without the rockstar attitude. Everyone was very cool and willing to answer question, share stories and were very approachable.
There were many great presentations, but there were a few that helped me the most. Syed Balkhi from WP Beginner presented How to Speed up WordPress and Boost Site Performance, covering the importance of optimization of plugins, consolidation of javascripts to reduce server calls and content delivery networks. You can view his presentation on slide share. Although only 19 years old, he carries himself with confidence and knowledge of someone twice his age. He is also very polite, we had to reprimand him constantly for calling us “sir”.
Sara Cannon from Scout Branding Company gave a light-hearted but technically solid presentation on Advanced Web Typography. It’s rare to have a presenter make you laugh and have an “ah ha” moment at the same time.
Last but not least, some WordPress contributors that left a lasting impression were Andrew Nacin (@nacin) and Otto Wood (@Otto42). Their passion for WordPress was evident and were a blast to hang out with at the after party. Here is a photo prior to the start of WordCamp.
Free Full Layered Facebook GUI PSD Kit
Smashing Magazine‘s recent post released a free Facebook GUI PSD Kit. It was designed by SurgeWorks and released for Smashing Magazine and its readers. The main idea behind the kit is to speed up the prototyping of Facebook application UIs and Facebook fan pages, thus sparing you from drawing all the comps and letting you customize all the texts, buttons and data as you need. As usual, the kit is free to use in all projects, without any restrictions.
There’s No Such Thing As A Bad Client
Ken Reynolds has put together a great article on client relations. Whether you are a freelancer, and in-house corporate creative or agency executive, I think everyone could learn a little something from this article. From my perspective, relationships are king in business. Face it, you can select any number of clients or vendors to work with, often times we select those whom we feel we can work best with. Why make things harder on yourself?
The Beauty Of Typography: Writing Systems And Calligraphy Of The World
We see hundreds of advertising message each day. Most are at a passing glance, but not too often do you get a chance to stop and smell the roses… really look at the beauty and craftsmanship of the letter form.
I read an article recently that afforded me such an opportunity. Read the Smashing Magazine article, The Beauty Of Typography: Writing Systems And Calligraphy Of The World.
Friends bring me back periodicals when traveling abroad. It is interesting that layout principals transcend language and culture. A sport bike accessories catalog in English and Japanese have a surprisingly consistent look and feel, although the letter forms are different, as is the orientation. However, the appeal for this audience is consistent in regards to color, rhythm and balance of the ads.
Exercise Your Creative Muscles Daily
originally posted at Cornett IMS Blog
Being creative is not a 9-5 job for most, but rather a way of life. Creatives are passionate, constantly striving for perfection on a daily quest for excellence. Creatives think, read and observe. A lot. We are constantly stuffing our brains with ideas and thoughts. I am sure I am not the only one who has woken out of a dead sleep at 3am, and HAD to get up sketch out a layout. While waiting at a doctor’s office or supermarket, I often browse through magazines I don’t ordinarily read to see how their industry is marketing to their consumers. Inspiration is everywhere.
My wife often jokes about what a curse it must be… not being able to look at an ad or billboard without analyzing the typeface used, the use of white space, or the pantone colors used. Quite the opposite of being a curse, it is a blessing. A blessing to be able to make a living expressing your thoughts and feelings, all the while crafting effective communications for your clients. Their success is our reward. Creativity is not just picking out colors and photography, but solving a complex objective with simple imagery.
To grow creatively, one must apply their unique outlook to everyday life, not just client projects.
Children are naturally creative and blessed with vivid imaginations. I know… I have four of them. One way I manifest my creativity daily is making up “pretend stories” with my kids at bedtime. I ask them each to select a character or element for the story, and to use their imagination. My daughter Justina (6) often selects mythical animals, such as a pink and purple polka-dotted talking Pegasus horse named Sparkles. My son Wesley (3) is partial to large shiny blue monster trucks that go fast, fast and super-fast. These trucks serve as rescue vehicles and fuels his desire to be a fireman when grows up.
My task then is to improvise a story incorporating these items. I begin with once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Justina, and handsome prince named Wesley, then weave their selected items into a fantastic story, where their characters use their special powers for good. These stories are great teaching moments, such as Wesley using his big blue truck to pull a school bus out of the mud and save the day. He loves being a hero. Justina loves working with mythical creatures, to save animals in distress by giving them magical carrots she grew in her garden that helps hurt bunnies get well quickly. Once the story is over, they are eager to add to it with their own details. It helps me exercise my creative muscles, and allows this dad to tap into their creative minds that don’t have restrictive, pragmatic boundaries.
How do you apply creativity to your day-to-day life?