People do not deserve to have good writing, they are so pleased with bad.- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Inspired by the theme song and intro from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show. This design is seeking to capture that nostalgic feeling of watching the 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.
On LifeWay.com, our search feature is one of the most important and most used features of our site. As such, we consistently look for ways to enhance and improve this feature. One of the most recent enhancements we designed is the ability to place suggested products in the search type-ahead.
In the world of User Interface Design, often times I follow the old saying of “less is more”. This is with good reason. We don’t want to distract our users with excessive or inconsequential information. This holds true on many (or possibly all) elements of an interface design.
There’s a big sale going on at Threadless. Go check out my shop and start your holiday shopping early.
A look at the process and thought behind the creation of the new LifeWay.com homepage design.
A look at the process and thought behind the creation of the LifeWay Digital website.
Everything we design and create should be full of meaning and intent.
When we think about the UX Process, we think about the different steps associated with creating a good web experience. For me and my team, that process looks something like this: (1) Discovery & Strategy, (2) Design, (3) Front-End, (4) Back-End, (5) Launch & Maintain. Even though the process only has a few steps, there are many factors that play into planning and building a good web experience. One of those factors is wireframes.
I had to get back into the groove of illustrating last year. Being overly busy had hampered my illustration efforts for too long. So, last year, I illustrated something every day. It felt great and really got my creative juices flowing again. This year, I’m creating more detailed illustration work and creating one finished piece per month.
Late last year, I had the pleasure of working on a design for Mohawk Outdoors. Mohawk Outdoors is a community for people who love the outdoors and want to help our combat/wounded veterans.
New Year’s resolutions. Fun to make…easy-to-break…but if you pick the right one, then it can help you relax and spark creativity. That’s why my resolution is to draw more…
A/B Testing is a powerful tool. Every now and then, a good A/B test reminds me of the power that A/B testing has. It’s the power to weed through customer interactions and decipher user preferences. It’s a power that I don’t want to take for granted.
2017 is starting off with some new designs. For a while, I’ve been wanting to create some hero and super-human designs that are based off of and related to my Fantasticons design from a while back. Now, I’m getting the chance to do it.
Over the course of my ten+ year career as a graphic designer, web designer and front-end designer, I’ve come to realize that the projects change, but the needs remain the same. This particularly applies to front-end design.
One of the great things about a personal blog and portfolio site is the ability to make slight adjustments at any point, as time allows. It’s a work-in-progress that can be improved upon at any time. Even though other projects may take precedence over my personal blog, I’m consistently thinking of ways to upgrade my site and create a more enjoyable experience for both me and you. With that in mind, I’ve been working on a way to improve my site’s legibility.
The time has come to update my site. This time, I’m using Jacob Fentress’s all-in-one Jekyll template. So far, it’s a blast.
Details, details, details.
Logos are undoubtably the face of a brand, but they aren’t the only piece of marketing at a brand’s disposal. When it comes to telling a story, one of the most effective ways to do so is through advertisements. Whether a company decides that the best way to reach their customers is through web ads, newspaper and magazine ads, or television, each can be used effectively if the focus is on communicating the brand’s message.
A few years ago, I had the privelege of leading design during the creation and recreation of several brands at PrideSports. One of the brands I focused on is Black Widow Golf. When I arrived, the Black Widow brand was fairly well-known. Black Widow cleats were a popular choice among golf pros and in many clubhouses around the country. However, Black Widow golf cleats also resided under the more-recognizable umbrella brand of Softspikes. On packages and marketing material that existed prior to our redesign, Softspikes overshadowed Black Widow, both in recognition and prominence. This would have to change once we decided to grow the brand.
A while back, I put together my Top 10 Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts. The post was an attempt to help beginners who are starting to use Photoshop. I know when I started using Adobe software, it took some practice to learn the ins-and-outs (and I’m still learning about the software). Once introduced to the keyboard shortcuts of the software, my productivity increased dramatically. I could spend more time conceptualizing and more time creating. It became more awesome.
A phrase that comes to mind each time I start a design is “less is more”. It’s a short phrase, a simple phrase…but it conveys a lot. I believe it was Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a German-American architect, who adopted this phrase and applied it to minimalist architecture. From there, the phrase has been utilized and applied by architects, designers, web developers and many other types of artisans. It’s a phrase that I referenced once again as I began to develop an initial concept for my Fantasticons design.