Logotype Critique Aug 30, 08, 11:58 a.m.

OK, I swear I usually do work for people outside of the church ;)

This is for a friend's college ministry in the research triangle area of NC. It's a huge group as far as those things go.

The name of the church affiliated with the ministry is Church of The Good Shepherd. So, I thought a simple logotype would be most appropriate. I've narrowed it down to what you see here. I wanted to subtly hint at a shepherd's crook with the lowercase f, rather than try to make some gimicky shield or crest like I was asked (ugh).

I typically think containing a logotype in an oval or circle can be a cop-out, but in this case it reinforces the idea of a flock or group being unified. I'm leaning towards one direction but would appreciate some feedback first.

http://metagramme.com/Flock_dd1_…

Let 'er rip.

Font suggestions Aug 24, 08, 2:31 p.m.

Looking for a script that feels French, although it can't be too specifically baroque. Bickham isn't cutting it. My knowledge of scripts is much shallower than sans & serif. Any suggestions?

Style Guide Question Aug 7, 08, 8:57 a.m.

For those that have designed & written style guides: if the guidelines are mainly for in-house secretary types (who are just now learning InDesign) rather than designers, and you want to make sure no one ever tries to re-create the logo from scratch, what is the point in showing the logo's construction? I've seen/done both ways. Sometimes people diagram the crap out of the logo, and then again sometimes they just show it without describing what's under the hood, so to speak. Just wondering what you guys think.

Nice Binders Jul 21, 08, 2:24 p.m.

Need a good looking one to house my church's brand standards. Lost Luggage is a bit pricey. I'm gonna print them here on Superfine or some other decent archival uncoated sheet (they only need one copy).

What do you guys use?

Thx,
gramme

Kerning Check Jul 8, 08, 9:46 a.m.

Kerning experts:

This is the final logo for my church, many of you helped quite a bit in the critique phase. The design is locked in, but I'm trying to finesse the kerning. It's a bit problematic in "OAKS". I'm looking at spacing the letters in two ways. Have a look here and let me know what you guys think. Presenting the final final tonight w/ color options.

http://metagramme.com/TOPC_KERN_…

Dino dos Santos Jul 2, 08, 7:35 a.m.

There's a website that shows some of his fonts, and it isn't dstype.com (his foundry's site). Any ideas? Can't seem to find it in my links or on Google. I was specifically looking for design information on Glosa, dstype isn't very informative.

thx,
gramme

Where do you get... Jun 30, 08, 3:20 p.m.

Decent pixel fonts. I'm a print guy for the most part, so the usual suspects are not much help here.

We are redesigning our website. Need something that works well at small sizes in Flash, and preferably plays well with Gotham and Bembo.

THANKS.

I know the pieces fit Jun 24, 08, 1:13 p.m.

'Cause I watched them fall away. Mildewed and smoldering, fundamental differing. Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion. Disintegrating as it grows, crippling our communication.

Screening spot colors Jun 10, 08, 3:23 p.m.

What do you think about, if done moderately and using a decent line screen?

Critique Please May 27, 08, 10:10 a.m.

Logo for my church. The name is Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church. We're fairly traditional, suburban but with a growing number of young people like myself.

http://metagramme.com/TOPC_MS_pr…

cheers,
gramme

Working over the weekend May 23, 08, 3:19 p.m.

All because of grasping, greedy, melodramatic bureaucrats. Happy birthday to me. This style guide would've been done and delivered months ago otherwise. Oh, and a buddy from back home is in town. Haven't seen him since I got married.

Friend: "Wanna go get beers?"
Me: "Nah, I've gotta overhaul a 50 page style guide. By Monday night. So...find some way to entertain yourself. I'll be keeping this desk warm for a while. Oh and welcome to St. Louis."

:|

Typeface suggestions pls May 12, 08, 11:28 a.m.

I am FINALLY starting to work on the new identity for my church, after talking about it for a year. We're Presbyterian, orthodox, and fairly traditional, but very involved in the local community. There is a growing number of young people like myself, so it feels less stuffy and buttoned-up these days.

Would like to gather some typographic suggestions. I'm liking fonts that have a 17th–18th. c. feel to them, like something you might find in an old Scottish or Dutch book. Also working with some more contemporary American options. Have been using Mercury, Caslon, Benton, Minion, Gotham & Trade Gothic. I'm avoiding fonts that feel very Italian or French like Bembo, Jenson or Garamond. I think Trajan works for some of the directions I'm taking, but I'm SICK of seeing it everywhere. I've been eyeing Penumbra as a possibility.

I feel like I need more options. Suggestions please, and thanks billions.

It's a Boy!! May 9, 08, 12:33 p.m.

All 5 limbs are present and accounted for.

:D

Senior Thesis Apr 17, 08, 2:34 p.m.

Regardless of your stance on abortion, I think we can all agree that this is twisted and horrific:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2…

This does not communicate Mar 20, 08, 3:06 p.m.

what's that site that has the stickers. Cannae find it in the filter.

shanks, gramme-pa

Rant Mar 19, 08, 10:23 a.m.

So we designed this print campaign for our biggest client. It's a 107 page book and six brochures, all of which come slipcased in a kit. Total beauty piece – gorgeous photos, intricate illustrations, good writing and typography, several different cool papers throughout. My boss and I worked super hard on this over the course of about 4 months, and I spent many late, almost sleepless nights making sure it was as close to perfect as possible. The week before the press check I worked maybe 100 hours. The printer, one of the best in the country, totally dropped the ball on this one. For some reason, the book is about a quarter inch shorter than it should be, so now it's a different size than the accompanying brochures. It now flops around in the slipcase that was engineered for an exact 6 x 9 fit, since the books are too short. This also messes up our layout. The printer also fattened the type waay too much, b/c they were concerned it wouldn't hold up on press. They forgot to fatten type on one page, and it totally looks fine. Some letters are now running into each other. The varnish appears to be tainted, since many photos now look milky, even thought they were crystal clear when we did the press check.

Grrrr...anyone else have bummer print stories like this? It's just a letdown when you work really hard on something that then gets pulled down by production mistakes.

East London Phrases Feb 28, 08, 1:46 p.m.

I'll start.

So I was getting my whiskers boxed at the sheriff's pantry, and along comes this musky duckling, springin' hot biscuits out of her ruffly truffle, and I said "Oi. There's only enough French bacon in this barrel to catch a geezer by the greenery, a'roight luv?"

Hanging Punctuation Feb 20, 08, 2:33 p.m.

In InDesign. The Story (optical alignment) doesn't always seem to work very well. Is there another way to automate it, or do I have to do it the old fashioned way and make another text box to the right or left? Any ideas?

Cheers,
gramme-pa

Daddy gramme! Feb 20, 08, 10:58 a.m.

Just had our first sonogram today. It's a bit early (8 weeks) but I can't keep it to myself any longer! We're super stoked.

I was amazed how clear the ultrasound picture was. We could see the head, two little arm buds and the heartbeat, which was thumping at a heathy 164 bpm. Lil' guy or girl is about the size of a Gummi bear and growing rapidly.

:D

Costa Rica Feb 18, 08, 12:09 p.m.

Going there for a week at the end of March. Just me and the wife. We'll be staying on the West Coast, in Tamarindo. I haven't surfed in 2.5 years, I can't wait.

Anyone been? Tips on places to go, things to do besides surfing? For Madirish or anyone else who knows: my gym doesn't have a pool, but I've been hitting it hard trying to target my back and shoulder muscles as much as possible. Low weight, high rep. Any tips on other things or specific exercises that will get me back in surfing shape?