From the Experts: The Design Process

From the Experts is a brand new series I'll be running each week. I've already told you that each week has a theme. Each tip, inspiration, and tutorial is always (as best as I can) focused on the same topic to bring you a greater understanding of working with that topic. From the Experts will do the same thing. It will bring you articles around the net that are...from the experts.

Here are a couple of articles that I found through my searching. I thought they were good enough to share with you, though I don't necessarily 100% agree with everything they say. I'll add my own mini-review with each link.

Creating Effective Visual Presentations by Andrew Jones (Ministry127.com)
Teaser
"Nothing can be more powerful or distracting than a presentation. One author estimates that over thirty million PowerPoint presentations are made every day. I’m sure you have attended your fair share of them. But I wonder how many were truly captivating, motivating, or convincing?"

Review
Point #2 is a really great point. The busier the slide (i.e. more design elements that are visible) the more distracted the audience will be. Simple and plain, yet well designed is better than flashy, cool, and busy, but don't confuse that with ugly and boring.

Don't let Point #5 discourage you. He is writing with the professional presenter in mind. Think executive office with a $1 million deal on the line. For your church, you simply need two presentations. The first is just a queue of slides with announcements for people to look at before church. The second is during the service. Elements of this presentation are Songs, Scripture reference, Sermon Title, and three to four slides for Sermon Points. You likely prepared a sermon outline when you studied. Take the main point you want to make and turn it into a slide. You were planning on making the point anyway, the slide is just there to make it painfully obvious that it is your point and to keep in the front of their minds the entire time you are talking about it.


Where Do You Get Those Ideas by Jeremy Lofgren (Ministry127.com)
Summary
Jeremy answers a common question with some helpful insights regarding the creative process. There is no magical formula, but there are beneficial steps you can take to improve your designs.

Review
This is a great article. Make sure that you read this. It will answer a lot of questions about designing for churches. Point #3, Studying the work of others, is exactly the motive behind our Design Inspiration link. There is no better source for your own artwork than looking at the art of others. Like the article says, evaluating why you like it is the best way to help you make something truly unique, however it is acceptable to "steal" if you are in a pinch. 

There is a very famous Art/Design quote that goes something like: "Good artists borrow, great artists steal."  I don't know who said it and I'm sure it's been attributed to every famous artist you can think of, but it IS acceptable to copy in our field. So long as it's not the exact thing word for word and copyrighted. If it's a free resource, like from Ministry127.com, then feel free to use it directly as is.



Now you might have read both of these articles or only one of them and you're already saying, "This is too much!!! I can't do it all!!" I've got one final article for you and it will address that feeling. Check it out:

Is It Worth It? by Michael Moyer (MediaMinistryBlog.com)
Summary/Review
This article is also a must read. It features many testimonials from church Graphic Designers who thought about giving up but when their work was done, the blessings that people received far outweighed the time and energy it took to produce. It's a great encouragement, don't skip this article.


 

Posted in: Article Reviews