frescoed wall

Logo Design for a Trading Business

2018-06-08T07:22:00.002+08:00

A friend has planned to put up an online shopping business. She asked me to design a logo for her. She likes butterfly; she likes red. The business is family's, so I could not make the logo very feminine (in contrast with the first one I did). The business is trading, therefore it involves exchange of goods and money. Thus, the logo has to be professional and reliable.

Above is the all-black version with a tag-line, as requested. The one that follows is the red and black version.

I hope I made all the essential elements present:

The name which is the most important. It has to receive the focus for identification, memory retention and recall.
The type of business. After some years, the business must have gained popularity and reputation. Thus, the word trading can optionally be removed.
The tag line can be optional but it is used here to express a marketing message.
The visual symbol, which is the pentagon shape.
The butterfly is a personal expression of the owner.

Red and butterfly gives a slight feminine touch. After all, the owner is a lady.

The pentagon shape can depict an arrow-up symbol which signifies positivity and growth. It also depicts a covered structure such as a store; to signify trading.

Black and grey is already very common; and I find black too strong. I'd like to tame the black a bit, so I made a dark grey version. Now, it looks more contemporary rather than traditional; but I leave the choice to the owner.

Designing for 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines

2018-02-15T20:44:00.000+08:00

Brief

The year 2021 marks the Jubilee Year for Christians in the Philippines, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the coming of Christianity to this humble land. This is 500 years of evangelising the Gospel. It involves nine years of propagation that began in 2013, with a different theme each year. The Church is called to be Saints Together, which means that everyone in the church -- the Pope, the clergy, the religious, down to the community -- together must work and evangelize the Gospel of Christ.

Every year, the Church targets specific sectors such as:

Year of the Laity (2014)
Year of the Poor (2015)
Year of the Eucharist and the Family (2016)
Year of the Parish as a Communion of Communities (2017)
Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons (2018)
Year of the Youth (2019)
Year of Ecumenism and Inter-Religious Dialogue (2020)

In 2021, the theme is Missio ad Gentes, which means mission to the nations. This theme completes all the evangelical purposes of the previous years.

What The Church Calls For

The Church calls for re-evangelization. Though the Philippines is about 82% Catholic, not all of them are practicing Catholics or go to Mass every Sunday. The Church is challenged by the mushroom growth of social media, sexual lifestyles, contracepting and various advocacies that detriment the Catholic church. For this reason, the Church invites Catholics to work together re-evangelizing the lukewarm faithful.

How Do You Contribute

Little things mean a lot. In your own little way, individually or as small group, find new ways to evangelize the lukewarm souls, a sort of re-inventing, perhaps, the old school methods of evangelizing, but without destroying the sacredness of the Traditions. The current generations no longer think and behave the way their parents and grandparents do. For this reason, re-evangelization calls for creativity to suit the minds of the new generations.

Personal Observation

Here's proof that I didn't know about the 2021 Jubilee Year celebration until last year when our parish priest in Makati started to promote the 2020 Jubilee year of our parish – Vicariate of Ss Peter and Paul – who is turning 400 years in 2020; together with the Jubilee Year of her Marian icon, Our Lady of the Rose, who is turning 300 years in 2018. This being said, if a Catholic is not immersed in any church activity, he would not know about the Jubilee Year 2021.

So, Here's My Contribution

I have designed a print for tee shirts and it looks like this.

My Principles In Creative Designing

There's a difference between an artist and a designer. An artist draws; a designer communicates a message.
It is big deal for a designer that his message cause an action. For that reason, he uses visual psychology such as colours, shapes, and subliminal messages.
One major technique that I use is to trigger a mind process such as to raise curiosity. If someone's mind is curious about what he just saw, he will ask or search for an answer. He will make an enquiry. That action of inquiring processes a thought in his brain. As a result, he absorbs more the message, he understands it, and remembers it regardless whether he accepts or not the message. If that happens, then the designer is happy. In contrast, if I show everything in my design, the seer will just look at it without processing it in his mind. As a result, there will be no recall.
Simplicity expresses more. It makes the design neat and focused. Minimalism is simplicity.

Elements of the Missio Ad Gentes Design

2021
It's the Jubilee Year. It's the one the catches your first attention and the major element that raises curiosity.: missio ad gentes
It's the theme for that year that culminates all other themes of the previous years. This is the second element that supports the curiosity, for the reason that the latin phrase is not understandable. As a result, the person who sees it will ask the meaning of it.: 500 Years of Christianity
It explains the reason for the celebration but leaving a space for curiosity, thus, in small text.
Now, let's try how smart you are.: Can you see the Eucharist?
The Eucharist symbolizes the Catholic Christianity.: Can you see anno domini?
Used as a subliminal message which goes with 2021 AD, ie, Year of the Lord.: How about this one?
Evangelization starts at home.: This one signifies your commitment.
Do you sign your name with a cross?: This one is hard.
Can you see the passion of Christ?

How Can You Evangelize With This Design

By wearing the shirt, not just once, you promote the 2021 Jubilee Year celebration. Wear it when you go to the church, community activity or even to the mall.
The message is universal as far as Philippines is concerned. Any individual, sector or group can wear it. It is non-exclusive. The Gospel is for everyone.
When somebody approaches you and inquire about the meaning of the design on your shirt, simply answer his question. That's your opportunity to evangelize, even in that little way. Just don't overdo it in order not to turn him off.

This Design is Free To Use

If you like this design, send me a message so I can send you a high-resolution copy. Printing this on tee shirts requires high-res format. If you belong to an organization, I can include the name of your organization as your signature of commitment. The design above is for Peaceworks103.

Lent Inspired T-Shirt Print Design

2017-03-07T05:42:00.000+08:00

This design is about a lenten activity called Visita Iglesia, a Catholic faith tradition wherein pilgrims visit five to seven Catholic churches during Lent, especially on Maundy Thursdays. From a distance, you can clearly decipher what the design is all about because of the prominent title "Visita Iglesia."

For the background, I used a cropped map of Bulacan, showing only its southern part wherein the seven churches are located. To give emphasis to the names of the Churches, I lighten the colour of the map and all its other elements which are not significant to the purpose of the design. The map, together with the church icons and names, suggest a journey of the pilgrims.

For the reason that the upper portion of the map is irrelevant to the purpose of the design, I covered it with a prominent title. But the title was not enough to hide what isn't necessary. Furthermore, with the title and the map alone, the design looked flat and boring. So, I designed a logo for the activity and put it on top.

With the text and the logo, the design looked out of balance. To remedy it, I placed a dark bar beneath the word "iglesia." This is also to emphasise that the word "iglesia" is more important than the word "visita." The dark bar should serve a better purpose other than aesthetic. So, that's where I put the tag line "Communion of Communities."

Unfortunately, the organisers of the visita iglesia opted to have the bar removed. Instead, they asked me to put the text around the logo.

It is sad that sometimes, a designer has to sacrifice the principles of design to favour what the client wants. In the case of this tee shirt print design, I had to sacrifice —

simplicity and minimalism (the lesser the elements, the better; no redundant elements such as texts placed twice; in the final design, "visita iglesia" was placed twice)
emphasis of the most important word (which in this case, the word "iglesia") and
balance of elements (the dark bar removed.)

Though I do understand, that I cannot expect every client to understand the principles of design, I have to consider what would satisfy them. At other times, I would opt to cede to what they want than insist on what I believe is more appropriate, just so I can finish the project without delay. After all, though it is my design, the final product is theirs.

Design is an intimate process. For designers, each design is like an infant that was conceived in their minds. It is not some kind of food like burgers and fries that you buy cheap from fastfood chains.

Visita Iglesia (eng church visit) is a century-old tradition of the Catholic faithfuls in the Philippines. It is a pilgrimage when Catholic faithfuls in the Philippines visit five to seven Catholic sanctuaries on Holy or Maundy Thursdays, when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration by the Christians.

If You Cannot Draw By Hand, Use Textual Images

2014-12-16T15:16:00.001+08:00

Textual images can be direct to the point or act like a teaser. When headings can be boring, substitute it with a textual image; or use one to emphasize it even stronger. If you do not have a fine-art hand, play with text and colors. It is better to have at least one image rather than none at all.

An image is very useful in sharing your page to social media sites such as Google+, Facebook, Pinterest, and a host of other sites. A shared post with an image attracts more attention.

Use it for your Top 10 Lists

An image that encapsulates your services

Emphasize your message

Fullscreen Background Slideshow: jQuery vs Shockwave Flash

2012-10-06T05:26:00.000+08:00

A client wanted a website with a background that changes every a few seconds. My friend and I had two options: use

JQuery, or;
Shockwave Flash movie (swf)

Our consideration was which solution would load more quickly. As much as possible, we did not want the site's first-time visitors to see the loading spinner for more than 5 seconds, if not at all. After multiple searches, my friend Eduard found this one.

Build Internet's Supersized! jQuery Plugin

Supersized! is a fullscreen background slideshow built using the jQuery library. The demo uses 9 images, sizes ranging from 97 kb to 236 kb. The width ranges from 800 px to 1024 px; height from 511 px to 1000 px.

If you are a first time visitor of the site, it takes about 2 seconds before you see an element (some texts); 15 seconds after, you begin to see the slideshow background. Good enough! At least, the visitor wouldn't have to wait for a long time. That depends of course on the Internet and hardware speed. (My speed during the test was 620 kbps (down), 393 kbps (up)).

What If It Had 14 Images?

I used instead 14 images that were 1280 x 800 pixels ranging from 79 kb to 129 kb in file sizes. Testing it in my local drive, it took 24 seconds before the slideshow began. Not good! I was just staring at a blank page, waiting, wondering what was happening.
I decided to make a default background using CSS. The result was better, at least, I was seeing something. However, I still had to wait long before something had to happen.
So I decided to put a loading spinner. Much better! At least, the spinner tells the visitor that there's nothing wrong with the site, his computer, or connection. But still, he will have to wait a while. The Supersized plugin actually includes a loading spinner but it doesn't show up until a few seconds before the slideshow begins.
In order to divide the queuing time, a trick is to show some text elements before the slideshow begins. Texts load faster, so at least, the site visitor can have something to read on while waiting.
In my example, however, I didn't include any text. Instead, an image (which was a logo) was the only other element on the page. Testing it in my local drive using Chrome (cache cleared), it took 22 seconds before the logo showed up; then another 4 seconds before the slideshow began. Not bad! On Safari, the result was not the same. After clearing its cache, Safari was showing only a white page. I had to stop the stop watch after 2 minutes. (Does that prove Chrome is really much a faster browser?)
My next option was to preload the images using Javascript but the result was the same. So, I downsized the images, ranging from 60 kb to 88 kb each, all 800 x 440 pixels. On Safari, the same thing happened, after 2 minutes, nothing was showing but a white page. On Chrome, the logo showed up after 7 seconds; the slideshow started 2 seconds after. A slight drawback was the images being slightly pixelated.
I settled for the higher resolution of the images. After clearing Chromes cache, I tested the page on the Net. What surprised me was that the page loaded faster than when on the local drive. It took only 5 seconds. I got the same result using Safari. You can view the result at amikvs.com.

Fullscreen Background Slideshow Built Using Flash

Unfortunately, I could not test the same 14 images using Flash. I have not been using Flash for years now. Instead, I used a Flash movie with only 7 images. The file size of the Flash movie is 575 kb. On the local drive (cache cleared), it took 23 seconds before the first web element (some texts) showed up; 1 second after that, the slideshow began.

On the Net, after clearing my browser's cache, it only took 5 seconds for the background slideshow to begin. (I wondered why was it faster on the Net than on my local drive? Beats me!)

You can view the sample at our lab.

How To Set a Shockwave Flash Movie as HTML Background

You cannot actually set a Shockwave Flash movie (swf) as HTML background. You have to embed it as an object. That means, it is one of your HTML contents. So, if you add another element, like text, it shows below the Flash movie instead of floating on top of it. To make all other elements float on top of your Flash movie, the trick is to use CSS where you assign the Flash object a div id. Something like this.

#flash { position: fixed; margin: 0; padding: 0; top: 0; left: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%; z-index: -99999; }

It is important that you assign a high negative value to your z-index so that all other elements of your HTML stay floating on top of your Flash object.

Then, on your HTML page, set the param of the Flash object to "wmode" and "transparent". Something like this.

<param name="wmode" value="transparent">

Shockwave Flash Files Are Lightweight

Compared to raster (bitmap, pixel based) images, a Flash swf file is lightweight because it is vector based. The quality of a vector image does not change even if you re-size it into something bigger. So when composing your Flash movie, the size of it does not have to be as large as your computer screen.

A photograph is a raster type of image. You can convert this into vector before you import it into Flash. That will make your SWF file smaller in size. There are tutorials on the Net on how to convert raster images into vector images.

Pros and Cons

Using a jQuery Supersized! slideshow is easier to build. The codes are already given. You just edit the file names of the images. It is easier to maintain it as well. If you want to change the images, simply overwrite the existing ones. Use the same file names so that you don't have to edit your HTML.

Using a Flash movie as background loads faster if the file size is small. The transition of the images is much more fluid. However, it is not easy to build it unless you are a Flash expert.

Best Screen Size To Design Websites

2012-02-08T01:25:00.000+08:00

My friend and I always argued about the "right" or better screen size to design websites. He would design websites as wide as 1900 pixels for the reason that his monitor is that wide. I would prefer smaller because I believe most Internet users still use 1024 x 768 monitors.

I'm about to design a web site for Legaspi Landscapes. Again, I have this question in mind. What's the size of my website? Maybe, the experts have the answer.

At hobo-web.co.uk, the author said that there is no best screen size. What is important is that the web site can be viewed in any device, in any screen size. The size should be flexible, i.e., it should contract and expand fluidly in any screen size.

But, there should be a based size or the size to start with. Hobo-web.co.uk shows live global, US, and UK stats on what the majority are using. The screen resolution 1024 x 768 is the one that is widely used globally. So, might as well design websites using this size.

Now, I have the knowledge of an expert to back up what I believe.

You can read the full article "Best Screen Resolution To Design Websites" at hobo-web.co.uk.

Web Design Review: Sonic Vitamins Dot Com

2011-09-20T21:30:00.000+08:00

Here's another website I found with a good design. I don't usually like black and grey because I find them morbid and boring; but if used properly like what the designers did for SonicVitamins.com, they could be very attractive and effective. This design is simple yet not boring because how the designers put life to it by applying a good combination of colors and how they are positioned to one another. The black background creates drama. The grey background is hardly noticeable.

Designing a web is not easy for me. That's why I admire good graphic designers with amazing creativity. Their ideas are boundless. They are gifted.

How to order

2011-07-23T23:55:00.002+08:00

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If you want to get my services, please fill out and submit this form. Upon receipt of this form, I will confirm your order. You may view the form in full here.

If you don't have a PayPal account yet, apply here. It's free!

If you're looking for a budget-friendly web host, I recommend Mocha Host. You can also register your domain name at Mocha Host. You may want to check now if your domain name is available.

Web Design Pricing Calculator

2011-07-23T05:04:00.002+08:00

Depending on your budget, this calculator helps you decide which of the services you want to avail yourself of. It also lists the services I offer and the prices of each service. You can download this calculator at Google Docs.

Don't have PayPal yet? No problem! Apply here. It's free.

Web Design Review: Razor Scooters Central

2011-07-22T01:04:00.001+08:00

Razor Scooters Central (razorscooterscentral.com).

This site is simple and minimalist yet effective. It is very straight-forward. What you see is what you get. You really don't have to think about anything else. Just by looking at the site, without scrolling down, you'd know that:

It's about scooters. The name says so. The images say it so.
It's an online store because it says so. Likewise, the images of the types of credit card honored tells you outright that you have to buy the scooters and that it accepts payment using those cards only.
It's complete because you'd know what you have to know. You didn't have to read much but it has enough.
It leads you to make an action. The three buttons on the right have large fonts that clearly tells you that there are three types of scooters. The image adds creativity in order not to make it look boring. These rectangular buttons make the users to click a choice.
What you see is what you get. Clicking on a type of scooters gives a visual of the scooters and the price. If the user wants to buy one, he simply clicks and checks out.

Affiliate Ad: Power Copywriting for the Internet Course

Principles of Effective Web Design

2011-07-21T16:22:00.001+08:00

According to Smashing Magazine, "usability and utility, not the visual design, determine the success or failure of a web site." If the user can not find what he's looking for on a web site, in seconds, he leaves the site. If there's nothing that he can do on a page, in seconds, he leaves the page. Therefore, the user must be able to see in a short time what he is looking for on a web site. On the landing page, immediately, the user must be able to see what he needs.

Therefore further, the web site must be clear of its main purpose. A message should catch the user's interest in order to make him stay longer or read further. The landing page plays a crucial purpose. What makes a user click on a link should be the same message that he must see on the landing page.

National Geographic's tag line is "live curious." Similarly, users of the Net surf curiously. If a user knows that the web site is going to satisfy his curiosity, answer some questiions in mind, or bring new knowledge, then the site becomes useful for him. You can predict that his next move is either to bookmark the page or share it.

Here are some basic principles of effective web design.

Be direct to the point. Present your message clearly.
Show what you've got quickly. Don't go around the bush. Don't abuse the use of the clicks and scripts. Users are impatient. Don't waste their time.
WYSIWYG. What you see is what you get. Do not mislead the user. It's like being honest.
KIS. When you write, keep it simple. Avoid being poetic and technical. Write short paragraphs. If one word is enough, use it.
Organize your contents well. Do not clutter the texts and images leaving little room for white space. (The white space does not have to be white. :) Users read top down. Follow that direction.
Make things functionally common. Give what is familiar to the user. Although sometimes, you may want to reinvent, do not do it radically. For instance, the search box is usually on top, then put it on top.
Use easy-to-read fonts and be consistent. One type of font is enough; three to the max. Don't be excited about using many types of fonts.
Stick with your color theme. Apply your colors consistently. Three colors are enough. Be simple without being boring. Be creative but use colors appropriately.

You may read the full article on the 10 Principles of Effective Web Design at Smashing Magazine.

web design plus more

2011-07-20T08:13:00.003+08:00

spread my flyer

I call my web design services Web Design Plus because not only that I design your web site, I also do the following.

photography
Flash design
web site maintenance
copy writing
training or tutorial
internet marketing
Web 2.0 (blogs, social media)
Google Analytics
domain name and web hosting

My services do not end at the design. I give other options to move your web site further like enrolling it with Google Analytics so that you'd have an idea how your web site is performing on the Internet. Teach you how to advertise or promote your site to increase its SEO (search engine optimization). Plus, if you want to increase your income, how to put ads on your site and join affiliate sites.

Do You Love Me?

2009-11-21T22:35:00.000+08:00

This is another invitation my friends from YUPPEACE asked me to design in short notice. It is based on the passage "Do you love me?...Feed my sheep." The invitation's requirement was only to contain a heart, a sheep, a shaft and the words "do you love me."

This is an invitation to a cocktail, not exactly a party, but a presentation of the organization's plans for next year. My idea was to make the look of it young and upbeat and less formal. The event, anyway, is not formal. Yet, the spiritual touch is still there.

I simply played with upbeat colors randomly on the background. To emphasize "love", the red heart does it. I'm not a cartoon artist, so drawing a sheep would be a challenge. Somewhere, on the web, I looked for an inspiration and drew the sheep the way I wanted it.

Dare To Start With J

2009-11-21T22:07:00.000+08:00

My friends from YUPPEACE asked me to design an invitation for the seminars that they are going to conduct. Given a short time, this is the best I could do.

Originally, their idea was to put a bottle of coke but I saw no sense why that bottle should be there. "Dare to start with zero" was one of the slogans of Coke Zero; thus the title "Dare to start with J." In my opinion, it will be too much of a copied material if I draw a bottle of coke there. That will be a murder of creativity and originality.

I believe that what I designed is more appropriate.:-)

When logos look alike | Logo Design Love

2009-10-02T21:01:00.001+08:00

Why logo design is not easy. You have to avoid being similar to a million existing logos.
When logos look alike | Logo Design Love

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A Contemporary Web Design for a Dental Clinic

2009-02-03T01:42:00.060+08:00

This is the web I am designing for a F.W. Guico Ortho-Dental Clinic . I made the layout a bit away from the traditional web design. You may call it modern or contemporary. Common web designs place the navigations horizontally on top or vertically in the sidebar. The main image is usually a horizontal rectangle that occupies the width of the page. The logo is usually placed in the upper left-hand corner. Most medical sites use shades of blue.

For this non-traditional design, I placed the navigation in the upper left-hand corner and the main image on the right and top third. The look is a bit upbeat but without sacrificing professional feel. For the color, I was thinking of blues but my friend, Dr. Winston preferred the oranges, which came out effective.

My inspiration on this design is the simple and minimalist designs of a German cable channel DW-TV . I enjoy watching its news because the studio looks so clean yet elegant. In contrast, other news channels are cluttered with people and monitors in the background and lots of moving bright colors.

Welcome to my Design Blog

2008-03-02T02:33:00.006+08:00

I'm a self-learned freelance graphic designer. I design web sites, brochures, business cards, fliers, posters, tarpaulin banners, pamphlets, e-zines, e-books, CD kiosk, logos, stationery, wedding albums, CD covers, portfolio, catalogues, invitations, and a bit more perhaps so long as it uses graphic design. I can also do photo fantasy and photo editing.

I am not an artist. I cannot draw freehand. In order to design, I need tools like Adobe Photoshop. I learned how to use Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and other applications by simply exploring the software and reading manuals and help utilities. To improve my skills, I learn from other artists' tutorials available free on the Internet. Thanks to them. One of my favorites is Just Creative Design by Jacob Cass.

If you wish to get my services, leave a comment or email me at amikvs at gmail dot com. Remember to substitute the 'at' with @ and the dot with '.'