I’ve completed another commission this week, this time for the good folk at the UTU based in Sheffield.
The Urban Theology Union are there to help equip and encourage the urban church – “disturbing the comfortable and comforting the disturbed” – I like that.
It’s a growing a member-led organisation and always welcome new members to get involved – check them out: TwitterFacebook
I was asked to proffer some ideas for a new logo and after consideration, the below has been chosen and launched.
Thoughts followed ideas of an organisation and network with a reputation for radical contextual theology – being member-led and member-driven, where interaction, dialogue, information, creativity, and encouragement is to be found. They hinted at a modern deconstructive vibe, about ‘people’ and ‘the personal’ and how individualism and union can be explored in a changing urban environment …
A good bunch of folks. If the promotion and development of Christian ministry in urban communities; study, training, courses, lectures, research etc. is your thing give them a like follow on Twitter & Facebook
**Revision to the original article, UTU have chosen the urban green colour option… #growth…**
Often prescribed in wiser times, a retreat, a holy-day. A specific change from routine busyness.
We traveled (back) to a place of contentment and a place where youthful roads diverged, the root of epiphany, the essence of understanding, a dantian land… A place of contrasts, often void of riches but full of richness.
We met old friends from verdant days. Friends unseen for decades, we used to play together, now we have children playing themselves, amongst change, growth and aging perspectives. We find a familiar friendship but with different stories to tell. Distinct stories from distant friends. We still share worries, hopes, dreams and visions.
Some days… in a place of simple treasures, ancient kingdoms where the torn edge of paradise glows daily. A place where absolution lies buried amongst art, tradition, innovation, entertainment, novelty… as lichens cover granite, we spread, share, exchange, and feed.
We return to looming buzzards drifting on thermals, they will always fly high. Shadows will always stifle our breath. However the light I was fostered with still shines, even if occasionally you need to take a few days out to rekindle it.
I’m asked occasionally to develop new logos and effective graphic visuals for new start-up businesses, or indeed to tidy up and consolidate ongoing visuals that have become tardy or perhaps have never really been considered as important.
Like all things, you can get them off-the-shelf for peanuts (they feed monkeys peanuts). You can always ‘get stuff done cheaply’. But my clients appreciate that I can bring bespoke consideration and individual creativity to the task. As with all my jobs, I aim to interrogate and understand what’s required, with a view to creating something that meets the brief as well as going beyond what’s expected. Yes, if you’re a high turnover business then it may be wise to invest in expert PR guidance. But even a start-up needs to get their image right. If I can help, jusy send me a message.
Your logo is the key-stone of your visual identity. It needs to be sharp and keen. It needs to be used wisely and correctly. Effective integration of your logo style, your colour schemes, your secondary graphic elements and typefaces etc (your visual identity); integration of this into all of your visual communication is important. To maintain and reinforce your brand, keep your services strong and in tune – this is why it’s important for your logo to be more than just a pretty design.
After the logo and visual ID is complete, it’s worth consulting your designer regularly. It’s easy to fly-off by yourself and crash the plane. A logo is only as good as how it’s used and incorporated in your marketing material. Yes, perhaps we can all colour-stuff-in and do desk-top publishing at home – similarly, I could build a garden wall or do some plumbing in the bathroom if I wanted to. But to add value, most jobs would be done better, last longer and have more guarantees if they are done by someone who knows their stuff.
The ‘Dirigo’ brief started with the client’s wish to use a stylised D and C and include graphic ‘linked circles’ – I worked on and developed this into the final icon and logo below:
The days are getting longer, the cycle commute home is now dusk, but the commute in is still dark when I leave c.6.45am.
The Bridge
The Lane
The Street
The trip in is an awakening one, the chill and the freshness awaken you on many levels. It really can be a great experience. As with anything it’s what you make it; yes, there are many distractions that could make the trip a most horrendous routine – but as I say it’s what you make it. Or perhaps it’s what you don’t make it. One thing you can notice is that the day is bigger than you. It’s more than the things in your schedule; your targets, your meetings, your worries and your wants. The natural world, or rather the ‘raw’ world is alive. Breath is what keeps us going. A cycle commute certainly can help you to notice your breath, your spirit – the raw you, the raw us, that this all boils down to.
I thought I’d stop and capture a bit of the mood. Above are three quick images that I took this morning. As usual, a little post-camera processing to reflect my brain’s wondering milieu.
So it’s been a month, without chocolate, sweets or sugary treats. OK, I had one penguin bar when I gave blood, and some honey with some whiskey one evening, #manflu.
Generally, we have gone without the routine habitual chocolate fest with the 9pm tv, without the chocolate biscuits in the pack-up, without lemonade etc, without honey on the muesli, without the chocolates passed around at work, at choir, at friends.
Not sure what the experience has proved. It [extra sugary-fat] is perhaps not needed. Perhaps the sugar hit can be got from other more organic things. fruit, music, imagination, people… the burst of a cherry tomato or a grape can be a good substitute for fatty sugary slab. Banana facts… BANANA
Yes, a little of what you fancy does you good, in moderation. Yes, as you can see, tonight we’ve {the wife and I} gorged on a Terry’s CO (there’s a mega-stash left from Christmas). To be honest, to quote the wife, “I feel a bit sick”, I agree with her. Chocolate is one thing, brown sugary fat with favouring is another.
I fully intend to try and limit the habitually unnecessary sweet stuff. Our culture really does have sugar at its heart. Where your treasure is, there is your heart also. It’s there at every turn, often invisibly innocent, as a default feel-good substance.
As I say, perhaps we might appreciate stuff better without the feel-good lens of sugar, then again perhaps we may not.
Posters, Flyers – there is life outside of the web. And the key thing is that ‘life’, can point people towards your shiny new web bling and that thing you just gotta share!
Local Football Club’s ‘New Girls Welcome’ flyer
Methodist Presidential Visit Event Poster
Making people aware of ‘your thing’ is what you need to do.Word of mouth is a great way of getting into people’s heads. Social media is the new digital WOM. Facebook, Twitter and the like offer free channels to promote ‘your stuff’. It’s relatively low-cost but, needs to be done, kept up and worked – the conversation needs to be kept alive.Printed flyers are still a great way of reaching people outside of the limited ‘social media’ culture. But flyers and posters need to be used wisely. Printed flyers can be distributed door to door, shared as magazine inserts, handed out in the street, or shared through friend networks.
The flyer’s big unique feature over social media is its tangible nature and potential longevity. Your customers will physically hold the flyer, you are in their hand, in their kitchen, on their table. Of course, ‘design’ also is key to the impact you can make. The flyer is the signpost to you, your event, your product. It might include incentives, interactive elements, competitions, coupons or vouchers … of course a ‘FREE’ whatever is a great way of encouraging a response.
Waffle. waffle … I think you can see that a good flyer can be worth the relatively low production costs. And it’s simply worthwhile for the invest in good design of the content and the visuals.
You can see some projects I have helped with here: jules p richards
It’s been 19 days into January and we’ve succeeded todate to go without chocolate, biscuits and sugary treats, but today being a Friday I needed a pick me up mid-day… luckily I had been asked by the college where I work to contribute to their radio station’s Desert Island Discs show.
Fullhurst Community College in Leicester was the first school in the UK to have a fully set up, professional, online community radio station which is run by the students. FullPower broadcasts around the clock online with music and live presentations aimed at young people and residents within the local community. You can listen to it now here: FullPower
So what music to pick… It got me thinking about music again.
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You can listen to the show above, with the tracks edited out.
I like most of us always had music in varying forms around me. I enjoy, value and try to find new ‘ways of seeing’ through music. I think of ‘music’ as perhaps anything that creates a resonating expressive sound.
As I mentioned to Marley in the show above, I like the analogy of music and food. As with food, there is formulaic & processed music that’s great for a quick fix. There’s pop food/music that pleases our short term urges. Yes, I like the occasional ‘Flames’ burger and pack of ‘Nic Naks’ as much as the next, but there’s a lot more food/music out there. We can feast on a wide variety of sounds and rhythms from other countries, from the past, from pockets of experimental culture, and nuggets of tradition that might be lost if we’re not careful.
I enjoy Radio 6 and also dip into ‘Late Junction’ on BBC Radio 3 “…music, ancient to future. The home for adventurous listeners”. I am also a member of a world-music choir in Melton. Global Harmony is an a capella choir that sings unaccompanied songs from all over the world; rhythms from Africa, stirring Eastern European harmonies, songs from the Southern Seas and the Americas, soulful gospel and blues, as well as traditional folk and rock and pop from our own culture.
But alas my 3 DID tracks are pretty staple choices:
Martha and the Muffins’Echo Beach – 1980 (video below)
‘Echo Beach’ in 1980 was the band’s only significant international hit. It reached No. 10 in the UK Chart.
I know nothing about classical music, but love this – it goes everywhere! I specifically love the solo violin taking us away about 11 mins in – but I love it all. I have 5 recordings of it myself and each one has a different personality and sound. I’d love to hear it live!
Nina Simone’s recording of, Feeling Good – 1965 (video below)
‘Feeling Good’Nina Simone recorded the song in 1965 and it’s subsequently been covered by Muse, Michael Bublé and many others…
In picking these tracks, I am reminded of all those memories and music that accompanied them… James Brown, Beachboys, Sigur Rós, Bugge Wesseltoft, Ian Archer, Deacon Blue, John Martyn, Ray Davies, The Hothouse Flowers, Glenn Miller, Howard Jones, Elvis Presley, The Divine Comedy, Springsteen, Geldof, Billy Bragg, the list goes on… a smorgasbord of sounds!
A quick look back, and although it was a kick in the guts of a year, I was still able to produce ‘stuff’ – here’s a few quick snapshots:
2016 – From the woods
2016 – I do my best…
2016 – Swim Schoool
2016 Night and day
2016 – Flyers
2016 – Pentecost
2016 – Memoirs
2016- from the beach
2016 – Abundant life
2016 – detail
2016 – Summer
2016 Book covers
2016 – street signage
2016 – Glass Doors
2016 – village news
2016 – Large Format Prints
2016…
From the woods– I love capturing images of nature Scrupulous – I have had to try and sell what I can do Swim School– my wife loves her job Night and Day– I love the abstract Flyers – there’s always a flyer to do… Pentecost – An artwork for the season Memoirs – a worthy project People – I was born by the beach Abundant Life – a really interest-filled commission Detail – photoshop’s a great tool Summer– Words and images Book Covers – two enjoyable projects Signage – for a local community project Glass Doors– for a local church refurb. Village News – It needed refreshing Wall Prints– some very enjoyable large format projects.
‘tis the season… where many celebrate, where many take to the stage, where many laud in traditions and habits, and indeed many create new memories… the first time’s never forgotten… as footprints form in deep, crisp and even snow, familiar tunes from childhood are hard to escape or forget… perhaps the only way is to deck the halls with holly and stuff…
But this Christmas, and for many months, I’ve found I often just can’t perform the routines… By the end of the day there’s a dearth of energy, purpose, and value… I am running on empty. Alas, it seems my synapses do need a chemical aid. Perhaps my spirit does too. We might hope, pray or wish for visions and dreams but it’s Greek to me. The body is weak, the spirit is woeful and the mind is misled. …Fails my heart, I know not how; I can go no longer…
It’s interesting to see that the use of the word ‘routine‘ peaked in 1986… #routine
The treasures I do cling to suggest that one stops; pause, breathe, relax, yield, and look… behold around you… I hear thatwe are at our happiest when we lose our self, in the object of our treasure…
I had a vivid dream where the Paul Heaton and friends came on center-stage in Hull and just could not perform anything…
I had a dream, where David Bowie and George Michael died… I woke, empty… However… then my daughter brought me the smell and warmth of freshly brewed coffee… I am thankful. I rose, and the winter scene outside was white, crisp and even… I hear… Take up your bed and walk… Mark my footsteps, good my page… The birds of the sky… Tis the season…
I’ve completed another commission this week, this time for the good folk at the UTU based in Sheffield.
I had a vivid dream where the Paul Heaton and friends came on center-stage in Hull and just could not perform anything…
