kris sheppard — design that rocks

sonya buckelew logo wins award

krissheppard — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:17:35 +0000

I received in the mail a package containing a letter notifying me that I was recognized as a winner for the Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) 2008 American Graphic Design Awards for a logo I designed for a friend. Also included was an Award Certificate of Excellence.

According to the letter I received, GDUSA has sponsored national design competitions that spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals. The American Graphic Design Awards is the biggest and broadest of these open to everyone in the community. They saw 10,000+ entries and of these, only 15% are recognized with an Awards Certificate of Excellence.

Here is my entry I submitted that fetched me this prestigious award.

My main objective was to create a logo that makes flight instruction fun yet retains the importance of structure and precision. I created an icon using the first letter of her name and some simple shapes to create the shape of an airplane. The stacked name creates a solid structure and strengthens the logo. The dark blue represents the sky, professionalism, and calmness.

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krissheppard.com — design that rocks

something more for your desktop

krissheppard — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 06:10:09 +0000

Well, I’ve added another set of wallpapers to adorn your desktops. This illustration was inspired by THRIVE which is a young adult service at my church. If you are ever out in the Ventura, CA area on a Sunday evening, you should come check it out. It is a great place to get close to God and fellowship.

1024 x 768 | 1280 x 1024 | 1680 x 1050

Terms of use — Please do not manipulate these in any way.
These are only for use as desktop wallpapers for your computer.
These are not to be distributed or reproduced in any way without my written consent.

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krissheppard.com — design that rocks

look! wallpapers!

krissheppard — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:43:19 +0000

I’ve decided to offer up my illustration as desktop wallpapers. I realize that my title is a little misleading seeing that I only have one illustration offered, but I have more in the works, that I will do the same for.

Enjoy!

1024 x 768 | 1280 x 1024 | 1680 x 1050

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krissheppard.com — design that rocks

as it turns out

krissheppard — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:25:27 +0000

I have been informed that the people of the AIGA have been addressing the issue of educating people of the value of design and of lowballing in the industry for a while. I will join them and focus my efforts there. I’m definitely going to do my part in this cause.

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krissheppard.com — design that rocks

what is the value of graphic design?

krissheppard — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 19:54:46 +0000

I love what I do. Graphic design is a passion for me. I think in design. I am constantly viewing and admiring other people’s work. Always taking in inspiration. It has been this way for me from a very early age. Because of this I keep up on the industry, reading other designer’s blogs and articles, not only on the creative side of things but on the business side as well. In my studies, I have discovered an issue that I was ignorant to just weeks ago. This is an issue that is slowly eating away at the industry like a plague. The design industry is being raped of its value.

We are seeing designers working on speculation, creating artwork in hopes that the people they are submitting it to will choose them for the job or promises of future paying work. We wouldn’t ask our doctor to perform surgery on us with the promise that if we like his work he’ll get paid. We are seeing designers severely low-balling fair industry pricing and transferring all rights of usage for nothing in order to guarantee they secure a project. On freelance forums where people post projects I see designers fighting for jobs. It makes me think of somebody dropping a small piece of food in the middle of the floor and a thousand rats rushing in to try and get it. It’s not a pretty picture and this is in the forefront of what people see. People who buy design see this and get a tainted view of the value of design and therefore form their budgets around a false value. Design is now viewed as a commodity rather than a service. A logo for a hundred bucks. Not an identity system or a brand that involves research and time to develop. That is a service.

At this point I can see two main factors of why this is happening. The first is that with the coming of computers and great design software, people think that there is no effort involved in creating good design. They think that if you have a photo manipulating program and a page layout program that it makes you an instant designer. There is no apparent value in design principals, typography and color theory. Concept doesn’t matter. Just click here, there and push a couple buttons and there you have it! The programs that we use are tools. We use them as a construction worker uses a saw and a hammer. It would be ridiculous to let your 14-year-old nephew build your house just because he has a saw and a hammer.

The second factor is that people fresh into the industry and people who buy design don’t know the true value of this craft. I was guilty of this just a few weeks ago and probably never would have known if I hadn’t looked further than my first glance. What’s on the internet right now is very deceiving. This part of the industry isn’t taught in the schools. Or at least I didn’t learn about it. I think it should be. How are people supposed to know about the value of what they’re providing if they are not taught?

I am not going to sit back and watch the industry I am a part of diminish in value before my eyes. Something needs to be done about this. I will post more on my efforts on this issue.

digg story
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krissheppard.com — design that rocks

New Challenges from the Lowballers…and What to Do

krissheppard — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:28:45 +0000

While we all want to think that a freelance creative professional is chosen for his/her abilities, often the reality is that a client can find good creative for an incredibly low price…thanks to lowballers who are ruining the industry.

Going Back to the Creative Brief: When Clients Can’t Vocalize What’s Wrong

krissheppard — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:29:44 +0000

This is a really good article about what to do when a client doesn’t like your design, but can’t tell you why.

freelancing tips at zenful creations blog

krissheppard — Thu, 31 May 2007 04:31:18 +0000

A list of 10 tips for freelancing. Great stuff!

the easy button count

krissheppard — Thu, 31 May 2007 03:43:42 +0000

Over at the agency where I work one of the guys bought the art department a Staples “Easy Button” as an inside joke. Anyhow, late in the day, I decided to have a little bit of fun with it.

I set the easy button out in a conspicuous place where anybody walking through the art department could see it. From that point I counted each time somebody pushed the button while walking by and marked it on a post-it.

Verdict: With 18 pushes in a couple hours, the easy button is hard to resist. A nice bit of advertising for Staples.

krissheppard.com — design that rocks

illustration friday… not monday

krissheppard — Sat, 26 May 2007 18:00:16 +0000

This would have been my entry on Illustration Friday… had I not thought it was Illustration Monday.

I’ll at least post what I was going to submit on Illustration Friday. You can click on it to see a better image.

The topic was Signs, so I illustrated a double meaning of the word. The first, the literal. A sign. The second, a more obscure meaning having to do with signs and wonders that the Bible talks about Jesus and His followers performing. The word Curatio is a latin word and translates to healing. Hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun creating it!

krissheppard.com — design that rocks