Archive for 'Design'
Font Friday: Kenyan Coffee
Posted on 30. Jul, 2010 by Kenny.
Yesterday I got my weekly email from KidzMatter.org. Right away, the bold, black font popped out at me. Immediately I said to myself, “I really like that font. I gotta have it.” So, I did the shameless thing and email KidsMatter.org to ask them what font they used. 
Actually, I was in luck. I know the guy (Evan) who designs these weekly emails and he was more than happy to throw me a bone. Thanks a million Evan.
The font is called Kenyan Coffee. It’s got a 1920′s New York art deco look and feel that’s strong but unique. To do what they did in this email, I probably would have defaulted to Arial Black, but Kenyan Coffee is a great substitute.… Read the rest
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Introducting Font Friday
Posted on 30. Jul, 2010 by Kenny.
If you’ve followed this blog for any amount of time, you’ve discovered that I’m a little bit of a freak about fonts. Actually, you may only know that I have a raging hatred (is that too strong of a feeling about a font) against the font “Algerian.” Just in case you’re wondering, I equally detest “Comic Sans.” No joke, the other day I married a couple where the wife was a school teacher. I sent her the wedding outline to look over and make modifications. She sent it back to me a week later with her changes. One of which was reformatting the outline in the font Comic Sans. Arrrrrggggg!
Just so you know. I don’t just hate certain fonts. I really like other fonts.… Read the rest
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Mod my woo
Posted on 29. Jul, 2010 by Kenny.
I need some help from a wordpress ninja if you’re out there.
I’m using a woo theme for Children’s Ministry Online. Unfortunately, my sidebar is slightly too narrow for something I want to do. Literally, I need the sidebar to be about 4-6 pixels wider. Unfortunately it’s not as easy as just changing some numbers. In addition to some code changes, it also requires some changes to the background image (says the Woo Themes support forum). So, I’m getting some quotes from some affiliated Woo Theme Customization workers tomorrow. Do you or anyone you know have the competency to make the modifications I need? Feel free to let me know my contacting me from my contact page.… Read the rest
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Updating my weekly parent update
Posted on 24. May, 2010 by Kenny.
I’ve been using Constant Contact for almost two years to communicate news to parents. I’ve been very happy with it as a communication tool. I get all kinds of great feedback from every email like what emails are being read, forwarded and the like. However, I’ve been very slow to adjust to using all that Constant Contact has to offer. For the first several months, I didn’t use any graphics. It was just a boring text email. Then a few months later I added a snappy header and that’s what I’ve been using ever since. However, I’ve been inspired to make some changes and have a semi-final product. I’d be curious as to what you think.
Here’s the template I’ve been using (click on image to see full page):
Here’s the new template (blue version, not sure we’re going to use this one):
Here’s another new template (green version, probably going to go with this one):
I’ll be using this new template this week, so any input you have would be much appreciated.… Read the rest
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I Loath Algerian Font Day #9
Posted on 27. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Someone is proud to be Chamorro. I’m not sure what that is, but I don’t really care. Algerian is an overused font that doesn’t really “fit” in most uses, like the one here. Come on designers, just because you’ve seen it around somewhere doesn’t mean it’s gong to make a great font for your license plate holder.
Fail!… Read the rest
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Ministry t-shirts: Vendors
Posted on 24. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Yesterday I wrote about t-shirts and the process you should probably follow in selecting, designing and ordering shirts for your ministry. Often times, your best bet is to find a local screen printer who you can work with. This way you can personally inspect the work before the job is done. However, not everyone has access to a quality screen printer. Not all screen printers are equal. Screen printers that do quirky and creative things are hard to find. Let me share with you a few vendors I know and respect.
IPGI is an excellent screen printer. They actually do everything from screen printing, embroidery and promotional products. I used them many times when I worked in Fort Worth. Finished shirts had to be shipped in from Oklahoma, but the shirts were always very high quality and the price was often hard to beat.… Read the rest
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Ministry t-shirts
Posted on 23. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
There’s nothing like a new shirt for your kidmin volunteers. Especially if it’s cool.
Ever had that shirt you were ashamed to wear outside of church? Especially if you went out with some volunteers for lunch after church, then there’s be a mob of people in ugly shirts. It’s a shame, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ve made it a mission to do everything in my power to avoid stupid looking shirts for volunteers in my children’s ministry. I want my volunteers to wear their shirts on Sunday, but more importantly, I want them to want to wear their shirts. It’s good advertising and I really do want people to be proud to wear their shirts out in public, not embarrassed because the person who designed it had no sense of style.… Read the rest
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Branding the 2014 Olympics
Posted on 03. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Okay, I think this might be my last Olympics design post. I think.
I’ve written a few posts this week about branding and design that captures the culture or location of the event. What I’m about to reveal is absolutely amazing in regard to branding, marketing and cultural identity in relation to the 2014 Olympics.
John McWade is the author of Before & After. Before & After is all about design. It’s a magazine (originally), but now a website, a blog and even a book. If you want to learn how to be a better designer, spend some time learning from John. Interestingly, John is my Uncle (by marriage). I’ve only met him a few times, but I’ve been a fan of Before & After from the time I got my hands of my first copy.… Read the rest
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Olympic design over the years
Posted on 02. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
The other day I wrote about brand confusion, specifically pertaining to the 2010 Winter Olympics. My friend Jonathan Cliff sent me the following video about how event pictograms have changed over the years, both for the better and for the worse. For anyone interested in design, it’s a fascinating video. Thanks Jonathan for the video. Enjoy!
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Newest volunteer shirts
Posted on 01. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
I’ve been wanting to publish this post for several weeks, but I had to maintain secrecy. It’s been really challenging trying to figure out exactly what our new Kids Quest t shirts were going to look like. I’ve gone through several initial designs but since this shirt was a gift for our volunteers, I didn’t want to post it online for feedback where a lot of my volunteers would see it (since a lot of them lurk around this site. Ha!). So, here’s what we’ve got.
About 15 months ago I launched this new shirt for our volunteers. It had been YEARS (I think) since there had been a children’s ministry shirt and the most recent one was a very, bright (as in neon bright) green.… Read the rest
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