Around October of 2007 I was miraculously re-invented. I experienced many changes in my life that not only impacted me personally but also professionally.
At this time I gave up my 2 part time jobs in restaurant/fast food service and excepted a salaried position as lead graphic designer and web master at The Toledo Journal Newspaper.
The Toledo Journal is Northwest Ohio’s Oldest African-American owned and operated news publication. They recently celebrated their 34th Anniversary.
As a graphic designer, this was a personal dream job of mine. I had always wanted to have a hand in creating a totally fresh look for the Toledo’s oldest African- American publication.
Taking a quick look at the BEFORE and AFTER images above you’ll realize the visual impact my work had on the paper. To be clear, this is not an attempt to disparage my predecessor. It has always been my opinion (and other professional designers) that African American News Publications across the country by and large are bereft of quality designers.
The reasons for this are varied. Many African American designers (like myself) are not academically trained but self taught. Furthermore, graphic design in general and the definitive field of Newspaper design happen to be worlds apart.
Also, many quality designers find themselves tied to archaic editorial standards and traditions that hinder their creativity.
All that said, I took on the challenge of re-inventing the Toledo Journal with a healthy dose of both excitement and trepidation.
The good thing was that my bosses actually were excited to have someone come in and give the paper a complete overhaul.
By January of 2008 I had implemented several new elements to the paper.
- Logo and Masthead
- Subtitles/Page headings
- Front Page re-design
Ironically, I feel that I have made my biggest impact not by introducing bold, new, modern concepts but by actually implementing tried and true newspaper design standards that they don’t teach you any college course.
I’d love to hear how (if at all) this new re-design has impacted you as a Toledoan. If you pick up the paper frequently, leave a comment below and tell me what you think. Your feed back would be greatly appreciated.
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I’ve just uploaded some brand new designs I’ve been working on. I’m really proud of these designs. Let me know what you think.
Special thanks to Assets Toledo, Vince Wiggins, Keeping It Together, and Einat for the referrals and work.
Check out all of my recent work in the Gallery.
Also, take a look at what my clients think of my work.
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I recently had a friendly debate with a potential client about marketing his company. I had suggested he consider advertising more and he said it wasn’t necessary since most of his business comes via WORD OF MOUTH:The magical phenomenon where customers share positive experiences they’ve had with your business with friends and family who become potential customers.
What many small business owners don’t understand is that marketing is simply a way of controlling the coversation.
Of course I use the term “control” loosely. As Brian Clark at CopyBlogger.com explains you and your company won’t be the real “star” of the conversation…
People tell stories about themselves. They even buy things in order to say something about themselves.
They don’t give a hoot about your story unless it furthers their own personal narrative. If it does, your story comes along for the ride.
If not… too bad for you.
You’re not the star of this story. Smart marketers don’t even try to be the star.
Smart marketers want to be indispensible supporting characters.
So the real question to ask yourself is,
- “How important is my company/service/product to my customers? “
- “What does my product say about my customer?”
Once you answers questions such as these you’ll find it easier to make your business a part of your customers everyday lives.
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I came across this article on How to Create a Killer Logo. Much to my suprise the process was very similar to my own process. Below you’ll see an example of my design process.
Of course I always start with PENCIL & PAPER. Here I explore all the creative solutions possible. The logo here is a design for a DJ equipment company in Israel aptly named DJ PACK.
After establishing a strong concept, I upload this image to my computer program of choice (Freehand or Illustrator). A Vector program is always best for logo design. Save Photoshop for adding additional eye candy.
I keep everything in black & white. This helps to establish a strong composition. Color can be distracting at this point.
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