As I’ve been training staff members on how to do various tasks in preparation for my departure I’ve run into a few situations where users need a simple photo editor to do simple tasks like cropping and resizing. Most of the PC’s in the office don’t have any sort of photo editing software on them and if they do they run really slow. So I remembered that Adobe launched a free online app called Photoshop Express a few months ago. I had looked at it but didn’t really have a use for it then.

But I gotta say, it’s a great solution for non-techie users who just need to do simple things with photos. The interface is really slick and user friendly and even kind of fun to play with. And it doesn’t require any software installation. You just sign up for a free account and 2GB of space is included. If you want to do more with it you can even import your photos from Flickr and Facebook to edit them. You can also create cool looking photo galleries and embed them on other websites. And it even has some tools for basic photo manipulation. I’ve just had users upload their photos, make their edits and then download them. It’s an extra step since it’s online, but it’s really not too much of a hassle.

This is really pushing the boundaries of what online apps can do vs desktop apps. I’m not opposed to a future where I can access my apps online from any computer connected to the internet. Next time you need to get some photos online check it out!

I was listening to the Relevant Podcast today and they interviewed a woman involved with creating a website called Unscrew America. It’s all about taking practical steps like changing your lightbulbs to make a positive impact on the environment.

No matter what you think about environmental issues, check out the site. It’s a really cool interface and fun to play around in.

I launched two new websites this week.

Christ The Rock Online
I’ve been working on this project for over 2 months. It’s still not fully complete. I have a lot of work to do with filling in content and integrating the site with our new FellowshipOne database. But it is certainly a huge step up from our previous site. I worked with a company called SiteWrench. They have a very nice content management system that they’ve built as well as a team of talented designers. They produced a great design and we now have a site with more functionality than ever. The best part is that I no longer have to worry about any backend coding issues. If something breaks down I give them a call. All I have to worry about is content. At times SiteWrench has been a bit slow at making changes but overall I’m loving it.

www.davecrowrocks.com
I know the domain name makes me sound a bit arrogant. It would be if I was saying it about myself. But it comes from what people that I’ve worked with have said. I’m not sure how much I rock, I’m just going by what I’m told. Plus some British comedian took all the variations of davidcrow.com and davecrow.com. But this is my online design portfolio which is way overdue. It is built on WordPress and I’m using the NextGEN Gallery plug-in to create a sweet looking image gallery. It’s short, simple and to the point. I’ll be updating this as I get more projects and become a better designer.

One of the most common phrases I hear from ministries and clients that I design for is “I want something that catches your attention.” I understand why this is the first thought that most people have. Obviously no one wants a brochure, flier, website, etc. that is so bland that everyone just looks over it. But when you focus on making the design stand out what’s often lost is creating quality content. So just a few thoughts from a guy that works on these kind of problems daily…

• What is your message? Say it in one or two sentences. Better yet, get it down to a few words. The less words it takes to communicate your message the more effective it will be.
• Often the person with the idea or who is in charge of the ministry (or business) isn’t the best writer. As a designer, I’m not the best writer either. I’m a decent editor but that’s different than writing from scratch. Find someone who is an effective writer and spend a lot of time developing great content before you even begin picking a color scheme.
• Prioritize content. A good design naturally guides the reader through the piece from most important information to least important. I know it’s hard to say one part isn’t as important as the other, but it is. Write good content and prioritize it well and a great design concept will naturally start to form.
• Design is about communication, not about art. A design that “looks cool” or “catches your attention” but doesn’t make the message clear isn’t a good design. It might be good art but that doesn’t make it good design.
• Tell the story in a way that makes it easy for people to tell their friends. Since the best form of marketing is word-of-mouth, make it remarkable- worth making a remark about (a Seth Godin concept…not mine).

Good design is no substitute for good content. Shift your focus and I’ll bet your designs improve.

We just got back to Appleton today after spending 10 days in Illinois for the holidays. It was a great trip, but we were definitely ready to come home and sleep in our own bed.

I received a number of books for Christmas and decided that I should start a reading list. I do enjoy reading, but I’m not the fastest reader in the world. Mostly because I don’t make time for it. Maybe making a list will help me get through more material this year. Some of these I’ve had for a while but haven’t gotten around to reading. I’m starting with 10 books and if I really make it through that many in a year I will have set a record for myself. Here they are in no particular order:

I just got this for Christmas and almost finished it on the drive home (thanks to Megan for driving the entire way). I should have it checked off the list in a few days.

I’ve wanted to read this for quite a while, but couldn’t ever afford it. (I actually recieved two of them so I exchanged one at Barnes & Noble for store credit.) This isn’t for novice Photoshop users, but if you’re serious about professional image editing it’s a must read.

Same story with this book. Not for novices, but if you have to make complex selections a lot this is the best book on the subject.

Since I had store credit at B&N I went shopping and came accross this book. I’ve wanted an InDesign book for a while, but all of the ones I’ve looked at were pretty basic- just telling you what each pallete does and explaining features. I really wanted a typography book and this one looked really good. It teaches professional typography techniques while using InDesign to execute them. Leading, kerning, tracking, drop caps, hyphens, text flow and alignment, style sheets, nested styles and everything else a typography nerd could want!

Also a typography book, but a little more of an acedemic read. This is more of the theory behind typography. Even higher on the nerd scale.

I should have read this a long time ago. I’ve seen so many quotes from it that I kind of feel like I’ve read it. Better late than never, right?

This is one I’ve had for a long time but haven’t gotten around to reading. Some communications people that I really respect recomend it so I’m taking the plunge.

Again, I’ve had this one for a while and I think I’ve read about half of it. It’s a really easy and entertaining read (especially for a web book) so I want to read the whole thing this year. You should really check it out if you’re doing any web design.

This one I don’t actually own, but I think I’ve seen it around the office so I plan on borrowing it. I’ve heard a lot of good things and read bits and pieces while sitting at B&N. I’m excited to find out what this “hedgehog principle” is.

Yah, I’m a bad twenty-something post-modern/emerging/hipster Christian for having never read this. Charlie taught out of it as one of the first teachings at Nexus and I’ve been hearing about it and reading quotes ever since. I’ve read “Searching For God Knows What” and it was great. I think I know most of the content but figured I should finally read it for myself.

10 books in a year is a pretty hefty goal for me, so we’ll see how I do. Happy 2007.

Some days it’s really frustrating having a job as a creative. Today I just feel stuck. Every concept I try to execute just comes out really “blah.” The most frustrating part is when I know I’m capable of doing much better, but I just can’t make it happen and I’m in a time crunch so there’s not time to come up with anything better. I hate letting a piece go out that I wouldn’t want to show up in my portfolio if I was interviewing for a job.

I generally don’t blog while I’m at work, but I thought maybe writing out some of my frustrations would help clear the creative block I’m in. Let me know if you have any ideas for getting unblocked.

Seth’s Blog: Good enough
I wonder, though, if “good enough” might be the next big idea. Audio players, cars, dryers, accounting… not the best ever made, not the most complicated and certainly not the most energy-consuming. Just good enough.

For some people, a clean towel is a clean towel.

I think this makes a lot of sense. We live in a culture that has an over abundunce of EVERYTHING. When I went to Willow last time, one of the breakout sessions talked about this. 50 years ago if you wanted a spatula, you go to the store and there was one spatula. Now there are numerous choices about spatulas- you can even buy one at Target designed by world famous architect, Michael Graves.

When it comes to technology, it’s never “good enough” for me. I love always making things faster and better. But I’m a geek. For my parents, Windows 98 has been good enough until last month when I set up an iMac that’s 4 years old for them. But it’s good enough.

When it comes to ministry, I think my outlook is as long as there are people that don’t know Christ, things can always be improved. I know it’s not ultimatly up to us to save people, but I think it is up to us to do everything we can to communicate God’s love to people. The moment we say our ministry is good enough is the moment it begins to die.

I’ve added the images feed from my Flickr account to my sidebar. I use this account mostly to upload designs to the Church Marketing Lab for feedback. So if you’re interested in seeing what I’m working on check out my Flickr account- and there’s even an RSS feed for all you RSS agregator people.