New Just Creative Design Store
Published on Monday, October 26, 2009 – 12:00 am | 24 brilliant comments »
Inspired by Von Glitschka’s simply awesome Zazzle store, where I just recently bought his Tickles “Evil Clown” t-shirt, I thought I’d see how opening a store of my own would go. You never know, right?
Though before I did that, I thought I should wait to check out the quality of Zazzle’s products and overall service. I didn’t have to wait long - just 5 days after ordering I received my shirt (and I’m down in Oz). I was also pleasantly surprised at the high quality of their products, especially considering their very competitive pricing.
Anyway, I’ve compiled a few products for you below, though the best thing about Zazzle is that you can customise the product to anything you want - ie. you keep the same graphic and then you can change its sizing, spacing, alignment or even change the product itself to a women’s hoody or mouse pad, among hundreds of other products.
If you want to take a look at my store, click here or click on any of the shirt photos below. All the shirts are on sale from a small $12.95.
Sultan Of Sultans
‘Sultan of Sultans’ means King of Kings and is a mixture of elements relating to this theme. Lion (King of the Jungle), Crown (Symbol of Leadership) and Space (King Of The Universe).
Excelisor Bot
This little robot is created entirely out of the Excelsior typeface. I recently wrote a tutorial for Layers Magazine on how to create your own font monster if you’re interested. There is an angled version (1st pic below) or a straight version (2nd pic below). Remember you can change the t-shirt colour to anything you like! You can also change the sizing, alignment, etc.
Just Creative Design Logo
This one I am really curious about but I thought I’d chuck it in anyway. Judging by some of the emails (one marriage proposal so far), you just never know.
Love Christ, Love Life
Although I am not a Christian, this was a recent piece of work I completed for University for an advertising campaign promoting the life of Jesus (as above). After I shared it on Twitter I had a couple of requests to actually make it into shirts, so I thought why not. Here are a few combinations below:
The below version features a small logo on the back, as well as a larger version of the “Love Life” text on the front.
Comic Sans?
This little character, like the Excelsior Bot, is created entirely out of Comic Sans. The idea is that he is saying “What!? Comic Sans?”.
Below is a version without the text.
Lightning Bolt
This is a minimalist retro t-shirt design of an electric lightning bolt coming down from the skies above.
Love Life
Similar to the other Love Life shirts, but without the cross.
My Zazzle Flash Store
You can scroll through the products using the Flash application below.
If you find anything else in my portfolio you would like made into a product or if you have any requests at all, just let me know and I will put something together for you. Anyway, interested to see how this goes.
If you have your own store, tips or suggestions, please share in the comments below. Thanks!
24 comments thus far »
How to choose a logo designer
Published on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 – 12:00 pm | 27 brilliant comments »
With such a plethora of choice it may be hard to find the right designer for your specific needs. Below is a short guide to help you make the right choice when choosing a logo designer. These points could also be useful when hiring a web designer, graphic designer, or any designer for that matter.
I don’t want this post to come across as self promotional, however, I’ve linked to my own examples to show you how I personally communicate to potential clients the value of my design work. For other designers, I hope this in turn, gives you an idea of how you too can communicate the value of your work.
In no particular order:
27 comments thus far »
Climate change is about people
Published on Thursday, October 15, 2009 – 11:40 pm | 11 brilliant comments »
As part of this year’s Blog Action Day focusing on climate change, I have Simon Owens from CARE come to talk to you about the effects of climate change and what you can do to help. I’ll pass you onto Simon now…
Climate change is not only about melting ice caps and polar bears. Climate change is about people.
Swinging weather patterns are creating disasters on a scale that human civilization has never before witnessed. For the world’s poorest people – the ones least equipped to deal with its effects – climate change is devastating their crops, livelihoods and communities.
“Climate change is worsening the plight of those hundreds of millions of men, women and children who already live in extreme poverty – and it threatens to push hundreds of millions more people into similar destitution,”
says CARE International’s Secretary General Robert Glasser.
“A concerted international response to this unprecedented challenge is required if we are to avoid catastrophic human suffering.”
CARE is working toward a world where poor people can create opportunity out of crises like climate change. But the current reality is that climate change makes poor people even more vulnerable.
For instance, agricultural production will likely decline in the poorest countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Less reliable rainfall will likely affect planting seasons, crop growth and livestock health – and lead to increased malnutrition. In other parts of the developing world, flooding will likely further diminish the quality of already-marginal soil and could cause outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
Climate change also is hurling many poor families into “Catch-22” situations. For example, they may select crops that are less sensitive to rainfall variation, but also less profitable. As incomes decline and people are not able to eke out a living, children are forced to leave school, assets are sold off to afford essentials, malnutrition rates increase and large-scale migration ensues. The end result? Deepening poverty for tens of millions of people around the world.
What Must Be Done?
At the international level, negotiations to develop a new treaty to guide global efforts to address climate change will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in just a couple weeks. The United States must help lead those efforts, and forge a strong agreement that caps emissions, stops global warming and responds to the effects already in motion. We must do this for the sake of all of humanity.
What can you do to help?
First, you can make a tax-deductible donation to CARE to help poor families access the tools and education they need to adapt to the effects of climate change, make efficient use of their existing resources and overcome poverty for good.
Second, if you live in the Unites States, you can write your senators and urge them to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, a critical step toward U.S. leadership in tackling climate change. U.S. leadership is critical to making the Copenhagen negotiations a success.
Third, you can join the CARE mailing list to be kept up to date on CARE’s activities and other ways you can take action in the days counting down to Copenhagen.
To donate, take action and join our e-mail list, please visit http://www.care.org/climate.
Thank you once again Simon. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
11 comments thus far »
27 Classic & Elegant Serif Fonts
Published on Sunday, October 11, 2009 – 4:20 pm | 26 brilliant comments »
“There are now about as many different varieties of letters as there are different kinds of fools.” Eric Gill
Choosing a font for a project isn’t always an easy task but hopefully this list of professional classic and elegant serif fonts will make the task a little easier… or maybe not.
Berthold Baskerville Book Regular
More Typography & Font Resources:
- 30 Fonts You Must Know & Should Own
- The Top 100 Best Fonts Of All Time
- 20 Beautiful Free Serif Fonts
- Top 7 Fonts Used By Professionals In Design
- 20 Typefaces To Start A Designer’s Career
- FREE 27 Page Type Classification eBook
- Designer’s Favourite Fonts & Why
Have you got a favourite classic serif typeface that was missed in this list? Let us know in the comments below.
26 comments thus far »
Recently Completed Work
Published on Friday, October 9, 2009 – 9:10 pm | 34 brilliant comments »Things have been quieter than usual on the JCD blogging scene so I thought I should let you know what I have been up to - here is a small showcase of my most recent work along with a brief summary on each.
One a similar note, I’ve just recently reached another milestone - I’ve now had a client from every continent of the globe, except Antarctica. This is something I never would have dreamed of 2 years ago when I started this blog and I find it amazing how small the Internet makes the world. Thank you for all your support and if you know a penguin, please do let me know. Read more »
34 comments thus far »
Does being a starving graphic artist suck?
Published on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 – 3:35 pm | 44 brilliant comments »
Does being a starving artist suck? Even if you are not starving, you should get yourself familiar with the books & resources of Jeremy Tuber, a designer & author based in Arizona, USA.
Jeremy and myself have been in contact via email & twitter in a very on and off fashion, though over the conversations we have had, I’ve found Jeremy’s pragmatic & practical knowledge in business to be quite profound and this is clearly shown throughout his books & resources.
About four months ago, Jeremy kindly sent me two of his books (Verbal Kung Fu For Freelancers and Being A Starving Graphic Artist Sucks) and over these last four months have found them very handy - below are two short reviews of these two books.
Verbal Kung Fu For Freelancers
Although I am not overly fussed by the design of the book itself, the information inside is invaluable and I have referred to it many a time. This book tells you how to talk and deal with your clients needs, but done in a very to the point way. It’s basically a ‘questions and answers’ book.
For example, pretend you have a client asking you to lower the price of your original quote. How would you respond? If you refer to the pricing section of the Verbal Kung Fu book, it would tell you exactly what to write and in some cases, it gives you two options to choose from.
Verbal Kung Fu For Freelancers is essentially about “how to talk to clients” and if you’re like me and the vast majority of your communication is done via email, you have all the time in the world to refer to this book to find out how to appropriately & effectively deal with your clients needs, without jeopardising your income or dignity.
I haven’t come across a book like this before and I highly recommend it. Its 166 pages are well categorised for easy referencing and is a ‘keep in your top draw’ kind of book. You also read what Steve from LogoFactory had to say about Jeremy’s books.
Being A Starving Graphic Artist Sucks
Being A Starving Graphic Artist Sucks (500 pages) is the second book I received and is much larger than the Verbal Kung Fu book. It’s a “complete resource” on how to be a successful freelancer.
It deals with such things as how to find clients & how to run your design business including thorough expert advice in areas that designers struggle in: pricing, marketing, negotiations, customer service and sales.
Although I didn’t read this book from front to back (I’ve already read similar books) it is clear that Jeremy knows how to run a design business and is certainly a book worth checking out. It really is a “complete resource”.
Discounts & Freebies
Readers of this blog can get 25% off any of Jeremy’s digital products OR get a free ebook when you purchase a printed book from Amazon.
You can click through to view all products & discounts.
Jeremy also offers free email support to any and all questions that you may have! How many authors offer that?
Free Giveaway
Update: 13/10/09 - Competition Closed
Congratulations to Jaz who will be receiving the prize pack below. Thank you to everyone else who entered - there are many questions here that will provide good ideas for posts in the future.
Jeremy has also been kind enough to donate a grand prize to one lucky winner. This will include the digital copies of:
- Being A Starving Graphic Artist Sucks
- Verbal Kung Fu For Freelancers
- Work Smarter, NOT Harder: Contracts & More
To win: simply let us know what area you find most troublesome when freelancing and a question you would like answered relating to that area. The winner will be announced in this post on Tuesday 13th October.
Good luck!
More book recommendations:
44 comments thus far »
Japan & New Zealand Holiday Photos
Published on Thursday, October 1, 2009 – 12:27 am | 48 brilliant comments »
Throughout June and July I was on vacation travelling through Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam and New Zealand and as usual, with any major trip, I share the photos and stories with you.
I posted the Cambodia & Vietnam photos a few weeks back and now I’ve finally had the chance to go through the Japan & New Zealand photos.
The Japan leg of my Asian themed holiday was spent with my mother and was a gift for my 21st birthday. It was great to spend some quality time with her while experiencing the Japanese culture and it also gave me a chance to do things that I wouldn’t have done if I was traveling with my mates.
In Japan we went to Tokyo, Shinagawa, Yokohama, Shizuoka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Hikone, Miyajima, Okayama, Hiroshima and Takayama. Click the map for a larger view of where we travelled.
Enjoy the happy snaps and sorry for not being more descriptive, I’ve forgotten a lot of the names since the trip back in July. Read more »
48 comments thus far »
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